Vehicular air conditioning system

ABSTRACT

A vehicular air conditioning system for saving energy includes: a first indoor cooling heat exchanger for suctioning in and cooling the air within or outside a vehicle; an indoor air conditioning heat exchanger installed on the downstream cooling heat exchanger for regulating the temperature of the applicable air, a refrigeration cycle connected to the applicable indoor air conditioning heat exchanger, a heating element mounted in the vehicle, and a circuit for the machine coolant circulating between the applicable heating element and the applicable first indoor cooling heat exchanger, and in which the air flow path for air flowing into the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger is structured by merging a flow path passing through the first indoor cooling heat exchanger to a flow path not passing through the first indoor cooling heat exchanger, and is also configured to allow switching to either of the two flow paths.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a vehicular air conditioning systemideal for electrically driven vehicles such as electric cars, hybridcars, and electric railway cars.

BACKGROUND ART

A vehicular air conditioning system for hybrid cars as disclosed forexample in patent document 1 is a vehicular coolant system comprised ofa coolant circuit including a circulating pump to circulate coolant forcooling the vehicle onboard heating element by coolant circulated bythis circulating pump, and a refrigerating cycle device including acompressor to compress the coolant, a coolant refrigerator to cool thecoolant from this compressor, a pressure reducer to decrease thepressure of the coolant from this coolant refrigerator, an evaporator toabsorb the heat from the coolant within the coolant circuit andevaporate the coolant from the pressure reducer; and in which thecoolant circuit contains an in-vehicle air conditioning heat exchangerto exchange the heat between the coolant and the air blown inside thevehicle.

A vehicular air conditioning system combining a heat pump type coolerand a heating circulator for heating as disclosed for example in patentdocument 2, is a system that cools and heats by utilizing a heat pumptype cooler; and in which the system includes a heat pump type cooler Aincluding a first circulating path, and heating circulator B including asecond circulating path in order to simplify the structure of the heatpump type cooler; and the water-cooled condenser within the firstcirculating path discharges heat from the first coolant placed withinthe second circulating path 8 to the second coolant, and a flow pathselector valve to switch the flow path between the heat radiator sideand the heat radiator bypass flow path is installed; and during heatingair conditioning operation the flow path selector valve flows the secondcoolant to the heat radiator bypass flow path to supply air heated bythe heater core to inside the vehicle as an air conditioning breeze; andduring cooling air conditioning operation the flow path selector valveflows the second coolant to the heat radiator, to supply air cooled bythe evaporator to inside the vehicle as an air conditioning breeze.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

-   Patent literature 1: Japanese Patent No. 4285292-   Patent literature 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application    Publication No. 2008-230594

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

Energy-saving effect in vehicular air conditioning systems for hybridcars in the related art is inadequate and further improvements areneeded

Solution to Problem

(1) A first aspect of the present invention for a vehicular airconditioning system includes: a machine coolant circuit for theheat-generating devices mounted in the vehicle, an in-vehicle airconditioning device containing a refrigerating cycle circuit, a machinecoolant which circulates through the machine coolant circuit, and anintermediate heat exchanger to exchange heat in the air conditioningcoolant of the refrigerating cycle circuit; and to suction in airoutside the vehicle or air within the vehicle, regulate the temperatureof the applicable air and blow that air inside the vehicle; and furtherincluding a first indoor cooling heat exchanger for cooling theapplicable air, an indoor air conditioning heat exchanger installed onthe downstream side of air that passed through the applicable firstindoor cooling heat exchanger for regulating the temperature of thatapplicable air, a refrigeration cycle connected to the applicable indoorair conditioning heat exchanger, a heating element mounted in thevehicle, and a machine coolant circuit for circulating between theapplicable heating element and the applicable first indoor cooling heatexchanger, and in which the air flow path for air flowing into theindoor air conditioning heat exchanger, merges a flow path passingthrough the first inside cooling heat exchanger, to a flow path notpassing through the first inside cooling heat exchanger, and isstructured to allow switching to either of the applicable two flowpaths.

(2) A second aspect of the present invention for a cooling system forelectrically-driven vehicles according to the first aspect in which oneindoor unit includes the first indoor cooling heat exchanger, the indoorair conditioning heat exchanger, the flow path, and the flow path aftermerging of the flow paths.

(3) A third aspect of the present invention for a machine coolantcircuit of the vehicular air conditioning system according to the firstaspect, in which a branch circuit contains a first indoor cooling heatexchanger and a second indoor cooling heat exchanger arrayed inparallel, and the applicable second indoor cooling heat exchanger isinstalled on the downstream side of the indoor air conditioning heatexchanger in the air flow path

(4) A fourth aspect of the present invention for the vehicular airconditioning system according to the third aspect in which the indoorcooling heat exchanger is mounted outside.

(5) A fifth aspect of the present invention for the vehicular airconditioning system according to the first aspect, including anintermediate heat exchanger to exchange heat between the machine coolantand the air conditioning coolant.

(6) A sixth aspect of the present invention for the vehicular airconditioning system according to the first aspect in which the flow pathcan be switched to release the air that passed through the first indoorcooling heat exchanger to outside the vehicle.

(7) A seventh aspect of the present invention for the vehicular airconditioning system according to the first aspect in which an electricheater is installed in the downstream air path of air passing throughthe indoor air conditioning heat exchanger.

(8) An eighth aspect of the present invention for an operating method ofa vehicular air conditioning system that selects and switches toplurality of operating modes in a vehicular air conditioning system thatalong with cooling the heat-generating device installed in the vehiclealso suctions in air outside the vehicle or inside the vehicle, adjuststhe temperature of the applicable air, and blows the air inside thevehicle; also includes a first step for cooling the heating elementmounted in the vehicle by using the machine coolant; and a second stepfor cooling the machine coolant by the suctioned air; and a third stepto allow switching to merge the air that passed through the second stepand the air that did not pass through the second step, and a fourth stepto adjust the temperature of the applicable air by performing heatexchange between the air that passed through the third step and the airconditioning coolant.

(9) A ninth aspect of the present invention for an operating method fora vehicular air conditioning system in which when the selected mode iscooling air conditioning operation, in the third step the flow path isswitched so that the air whose temperature was raised in the second stepis released outside the vehicle, and only air that did not pass throughthe second step is supplied.

(10) A tenth aspect of the present invention for an operating method fora vehicular air conditioning system further including a fifth step toheat the air that passed through the fourth step by using an electricheater.

(11) An eleventh aspect of the present invention for an operating methodfor a vehicular air conditioning system in which, when the selected modeis dehumidifying operation, the air is cooled in the fourth step, andheated in the fifth step.

(12) A twelfth aspect of the present invention for an operating methodfor a vehicular air conditioning system in which, when the selected modeis heating air conditioning operation, the air is heated in the fourthstep, and is further heated in the fifth step as needed.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

The present invention is capable of providing a vehicular airconditioning system capable of suppressing electrical power consumptionin the refrigerating cycle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a drawing showing the overall structure of the vehicular airconditioning system of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a drawing showing the overall structure of an air conditioner60 of the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a drawing showing the overall structure of an air conditioner60 of the first embodiment in the mode for machine cooling operation;

FIG. 4 is a drawing showing the overall structure of the air conditioner60 of the first embodiment in the mode for cooling air conditioningoperation;

FIG. 5 is a drawing showing the overall structure of the air conditioner60 of the first embodiment in the mode for cooling air conditioning andmachine cooling operation;

FIG. 6 is a drawing showing the overall structure of the air conditioner60 of the first embodiment in the mode for heating air conditioningoperation;

FIG. 7 is a drawing showing the overall structure of the air conditioner60 of the first embodiment in the mode for heating air conditioning andmachine cooling operation;

FIG. 8 is a drawing showing the overall structure of the air conditioner60 of the first embodiment in the mode for dehumidifying operation;

FIG. 9 is a drawing showing the overall structure of the air conditioner60 of the first embodiment in the mode for heating air conditioning anddehumidifying operation;

FIG. 10 is a drawing showing the overall structure of the airconditioner 60 of the first embodiment in the mode for machine heatingoperation;

FIG. 11 is a drawing showing the overall structure of the airconditioner 60 of the first embodiment in the mode defrosting operation;

FIG. 12 is a drawing showing the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger7 and the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6B arrangement in the presentinvention;

FIG. 13 is a drawing showing the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger7 and the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A arrangement in the presentinvention;

FIG. 14 is a drawing showing the overall structure of the indoor unitswitching damper in the states for outer air feed, and blowing of intakeair to inside the vehicle;

FIG. 15 is a drawing showing the overall structure of the indoor unitswitching damper in the states for inner air circulation and blowing ofintake air to inside the vehicle;

FIG. 16 is a drawing showing the overall structure of the indoor unitswitching damper in the states for outer air feed, and blowing of intakeair to outside the vehicle;

FIG. 17 is a drawing showing the overall structure of the indoor unitswitching damper in the states for outer air feed, and blowing of intakeair to inside the vehicle and outside the vehicle;

FIG. 18 is a list showing the targets for temperature regulation, andtheir conditions;

FIG. 19 is a drawing showing another example of arrangement differentfrom FIG. 2, as the heating element of the present invention;

FIG. 20 is a flowchart of the control processing program in the airconditioning control device 61 of the present invention;

FIG. 21 is a table showing the vehicle status and changes in thetemperatures set for the heating element 9 as the device requiringtemperature regulation;

FIG. 22 is a block diagram showing the structure of the control devicefor electric cars mounted with the vehicular air conditioning system ofthe present invention;

FIG. 23 is a drawing showing the overall structure of the vehicular airconditioning system of the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 24 is a drawing showing the overall structure of the airconditioner 60 of the second embodiment in the mode for machine coolingoperation;

FIG. 25 is a drawing showing the overall structure of the airconditioner 60 of the second embodiment in the mode for cooling airconditioning operation;

FIG. 26 is a drawing showing the overall structure of the airconditioner 60 of the second embodiment in the mode for the cooling airconditioning and machine cooling operation;

FIG. 27 is a drawing showing the overall structure of the airconditioner 60 of the second embodiment in the mode for the heating airconditioning operation;

FIG. 28 is a drawing showing the overall structure of the airconditioner 60 of the second embodiment in the mode for the heating airconditioning and machine cooling operation;

FIG. 29 is a drawing showing the overall structure of the airconditioner 60 of the second embodiment in the mode for thedehumidifying operation;

FIG. 30 is a drawing showing the overall structure of the airconditioner 60 of the second embodiment in the mode for the machineheating operation;

FIG. 31 is a drawing showing the overall structure of the airconditioner 60 of the second embodiment in the mode for the defrostoperation.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

One embodiment of the vehicular air conditioning system of the presentinvention applied to electric cars is described next however the rangeof the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. The presentinvention is not limited to electric cars and may be applied to hybridcars or electric railway cars, construction motor vehicles, and otherelectrically driven vehicles such as other custom vehicles. Moreover, inthis first embodiment an alternating current (AC) motor driven by aninverter was described as an example, however the present invention isnot limited to an AC motor and for example may be applied to all typesof rotary electrical machines (motors and generators) such as directcurrent motors driven by a converter such as thyristor leonard device,or a pulse motor driven by a chopper power supply, etc.

(1) Vehicle Air conditioning System Structure

FIG. 1 is a drawing showing the overall structure of the vehicular airconditioning system of the present invention. The vehicular airconditioning system shown in FIG. 1 is comprised of an air conditioner60 for performing cooling/heating air conditioning and cooling/heatingof the vehicle interior and machine requiring temperature regulation;and an air conditioning control device 61 to control the air conditioner60. Control signals from the air conditioning control device 61 controlthe different types of actuators mounted in the air conditioner 60. Theactuator for the present embodiment contains a compressor 1, expansionvalves 22A, 22B, 23 as a flow rate control method, a four-way valve 19as a first flow path selector method, three-way valves 20 as a secondflow path selector method, the two-way valves 21A, 21B, 21C, 21D, 21E,pump 5, outdoor fan 3, and indoor fan 8.

A temperature sensor inputs the vehicle indoor temperature 62, and thetemperature 63 for the machine requiring temperature regulation to theair conditioner control device 61. The present embodiment containsmachines such as motors, inverters, battery, and gear boxes as equipmentrequiring temperature adjustment, and a temperature sensor is mounted ineach of these machines. Besides the acceleration sensor and vehiclespeed sensor inputting the degree of acceleration opening and thevehicle speed as the vehicle operating information 64 into the airconditioner control device 61, a navigation device inputs roadinformation or target destination information as the drive scheduleinformation 65 of the vehicle.

(2) Air Conditioner Structure

FIG. 2 is a drawing showing the overall structure of an air conditioner60. The air conditioner 60 contains a refrigeration cycle circuit 90 forcirculating the air conditioning coolant (e.g. refrigerant) to cool theheating element 9 and for indoor air conditioning; and a machine coolantcircuit 41 to circulate the machine coolant (e.g. cooling water) forcooling the heating element 9.

A compressor 1 to compress the coolant, an outdoor heat exchanger 2 tocarry out heat exchange between the air conditioning coolant and theoutside air, an intermediate heat exchanger 4 within the refrigeratingcycle circuit 90A that was branched to carry out heat exchange betweenthe air conditioning coolant and the machine coolant flowing within themachine coolant circuit 41, and an indoor air conditioning heatexchanger 7 within the refrigerating cycle circuit 90B to carry out heatexchange between the air conditioning coolant and the vehicle interiorair are connected to the refrigerating cycle circuit 90 by way of afluid pipe for circulating the air conditioning coolant.

A four-way valve 19 is installed between the intake pipe 11 and thedispensing pipe 10 of the compressor 1. Switching the four-way valve 19allows connecting either of the intake pipe 11 and dispensing pipe 10 tothe outdoor heat exchanger 2, and connecting the other to theintermediate heat exchanger 4 and the indoor air conditioning heatexchanger 7. The four-way valve 19 shown in FIG. 2, connects thedispensing pipe 10 to the outdoor heat exchanger 2, and connects theintake pipe 11 to the intermediate heat exchanger 4.

One end of the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7 is connected tothe outdoor heat exchanger 2, and the other end is connected by way ofthe three-way valve to allow switching to either of the dispensing pipe10 or the intake pipe 11 of the compressor 1. The expansion valves 23,22A, 22B functioning as the flow rate control method for the airconditioning coolant are respectively mounted on the side not connectedto the compressor 1 of the outdoor heat exchanger 2, between theintermediate heat exchanger 4 and the outdoor heat exchanger 2, andbetween the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7 and the outdoorheat exchanger 2. The outdoor heat exchanger 2 contains an outside fan 3for blowing outside air.

The machine coolant circuit 41 is connected in sequence in a ring-shapedlayout to an indoor cooling heat exchanger 6 in which that the machinecoolant internally flows to perform heat exchange with vehicle interiorair flow, the intermediate heat exchanger 4, the pump 5 to circulate themachine coolant within the machine coolant circuit 41, and the heatingelement 9 as the machine requiring temperature adjustment.

The indoor cooling heat exchanger 6 in the machine coolant circuit 41 isan indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A as a first indoor cooling heatexchanger, and an indoor cooling heat exchanger 6B as a second indoorcooling heat exchanger, the two of which are installed in parallel. Abypass circuit 41C functioning as a bypass is mounted on both ends ofthese two indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A and 6B. A two-way valve 21Cis mounted along the bypass circuit 41C, a two-way valve 21E is mountedon the circuit 41E passing through the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A,and a two-way valve 21D is mounted on the circuit 41D passing throughthe indoor cooling heat exchanger 6B. The opening and closing action ofthese two-way valves 21C, 21D, 21E allows switching the flow paths forthe machine coolant. These two-way valves connect to the machine coolantcircuit 41 to allow regulating the temperature of the plural heatingelements 9A, 9B as shown in FIG. 2. A two-way valve 21B is installed inthe machine coolant circuit 41B containing the heating element 9B, and atwo-way valve 21A is installed in the machine coolant circuit 41A notpassing through the heating element 9B. The temperature of both theheating elements 9A, 9B can in this way be regulated when the two-wayvalve 21A is closed and the two-way valve 21B is opened, however onlythe temperature of the heating element 9A can be regulated when thetwo-way valve 21A is opened and the two-way valve 2B is closed. Aplurality of heating elements 9 may even be connected in series at theposition of the heating element 9A. The method for connecting theheating elements 9, and the method for installing the two-way valves canbe changed according to the heating element temperature conditions.

To provide indoor air conditioning, the indoor unit blowing thetemperature-regulated air contains an indoor fan to suction indoor(in-vehicle) or outdoor (outside the vehicle) air, and blow to insidethe vehicle or outside the vehicle, an indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A,6B, the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7, and the switchingdampers 52, 53 to perform switching so as to blow the air that washeat-exchanged in the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6 to inside thevehicle or outside the vehicle, and the air in/out ports 43A, 43B, 43C,43D to suction the vehicle inside or vehicle outside air, or blow air toinside the vehicle or outside the vehicle.

The indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A, 6B are respectively installed onthe upstream side or downstream side of the indoor air conditioning heatexchanger 7, and the switching dampers 52, 53 are installed between theindoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7 and the indoor cooling heatexchanger 6A. The indoor unit suctions air from the air intake ports43A, 43D by way of the indoor fan 8, and blows air from the airdispensing ports 43B, 43C.

The air intake ports 43A, 43D suction in air inside the vehicle (insideair) or air outside the vehicle (outside air) by way of ducts not shownin the drawing. The air dispensing port 43B blows air to inside thevehicle (inside vehicle) from a duct not shown in the drawing, and theair dispensing port 43C blows air to outside the vehicle (outside air)from a duct not shown in the drawing.

The switching damper 52 is capable of adjusting the air flow suctionedin from the air intake port 43D and can variably control the degree ofopening. The air suctioned in from the air intake port 43D passesthrough the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7 and the indoorcooling heat exchanger 6B without passing through the indoor coolingheat exchanger 6A, and is blown into the interior of the vehicle fromthe air dispensing port 43B.

After the air suctioned in from the air intake port 43A has passedthrough the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A, the switching damper 53blow the air from the air dispensing port 43C to outside the vehicle orblows the air to inside the vehicle from the air dispensing port 43B.

The operation of the air conditioner 60 as shown in FIG. 2 is describednext. In the present embodiment, the temperature of the heating element9 is adjusted by circulating the machine coolant by the pump 5. Theoperation of the other machines varies according to the amount of heatemitted from the air conditioning load and the heating element 9. Themachine cooling, cooling air conditioning, cooling airconditioning+machine cooling, heating air conditioning, heating airconditioning+machine cooling, dehumidifying, heating airconditioning+dehumidifying, machine heating, and defrosting operation isdescribed next.

(3) Machine Cooling Operation

Machine cooling operation is an operation to cool the heating elements 9in a state where there is no vehicle indoor air conditioning and isdescribed while referring to FIG. 3. This operation is utilized when theindoor cooling heat exchanger 6A is only cooling the machine coolantcirculating in the machine coolant circuit 41; and when the indoorcooling heat exchanger 6A and intermediate heat exchanger 4 are coolingthe machine coolant.

Closing the two-way valves 21C, 21D and opening the two-way valve 21E inthe machine coolant circuit 41 causes the machine coolant driven by thepump 5 to circulate in the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A and theintermediate heat exchanger 4. Machine coolant flows in the machinecoolant circuit 41A when the two-way valve 21B is closed, and when thetwo-way valve 21A is opened. Machine coolant flows in the machinecoolant circuit 41B when the two-way valve 21A is closed and the two-wayvalve 21B is opened. The two-way valve 21A is closed and the two-wayvalve 21B is opened if cooling both the heating elements 9A, 9B.

As shown in FIG. 3, the switching dampers 52, 53 within the indoor unit42 are set so that the air suctioned in by the air in/out port 43Apasses through the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A and is blown fromthe air in/out port 43C. The passage of air through the indoor coolingheat exchanger 6A cools the machine coolant. The cooling capability canmoreover be adjusted by way of the air flow suctioned in by the indoorfan 8. The air in/out port 43C is rendered by way of a duct not shown inthe figure so as not to blow warm air into the vehicle.

When the intermediate heat exchanger 4 is cooling the machine coolant,the four-way valve 19 and the three-way valve 20 are connected as shownin FIG. 3, and the dispensing pipe 10 of the compressor 1 is connectedto the outdoor heat exchanger 2, and the intake pipe 11 of thecompressor 1 is connected to the intermediate heat exchanger 4 and theindoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7. The expansion valve 22B isfully closed so that no air conditioning coolant flows into the indoorair conditioning heat exchanger 7. In other words, the outdoor heatexchanger 2 serves as a condenser and the intermediate condenser 4serves as an evaporator.

After the air conditioning coolant compressed by the compressor 1, isliquefied by heat discharge from the outdoor heat exchanger 2, the airconditioning coolant passes through the fully open expansion valve 23and flows into the intermediate heat exchanger 4. The air conditioningcoolant flowing into the intermediate heat exchanger 4 is depressurizedby the expansion valve 22A and reaches a low pressure, low temperaturestate, and evaporates due to the absorption of heat from the machinecoolant in the machine coolant circuit 41 in the intermediate heatexchanger 4, and returns by way of the four-way valve 19 to thecompressor 1. Heat exchange between the machine coolant and the airconditioning coolant takes place in the intermediate heat exchange 4 byutilizing the refrigeration cycle circuit 90 to cool the machinecoolant.

The machine coolant can in this way be cooled by the indoor cooling heatexchanger 6A and the intermediate heat exchanger 4. When the machinecoolant is a lower temperature than the specified temperature, themachine coolant is cooled only in the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6Awithout utilizing the refrigeration cycle circuit 90, and when themachine coolant is a higher temperature than the specified temperature,the machine coolant is cooled in the intermediate heat exchanger 4 andthe indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A utilizing the refrigeration cyclecircuit 90.

The air flow of the internal fan 8, the flow rate of the pump 5, therotation speed of the compressor 1, the degree of opening of theexpansion valve 22A, and the air flow of the outdoor fan 3 may becontrolled in order to regulate the temperature of the machine coolant.When the machine coolant is a higher temperature than the targettemperature, the air flow of the indoor fan 8 may be increased, the flowrate of the pump 5 may be increased, the rotation speed of thecompressor 1 may be increased, the degree of opening of the expansionvalve 22A may be widened, and the air flow of the outdoor fan 3 may beincreased. On the other hand, when the machine coolant is a lowertemperature than the target temperature, the air flow of the indoor fan8 may be decreased, the flow rate of the pump 5 may be decreased, therotation speed of the compressor 1 may be decreased, the degree ofopening of the expansion valve 22A may be narrowed, and the air flow ofthe outdoor fan 3 may be decreased. Not all of the actuators need becontrolled, and just controlling at least one actuator is sufficient.

(4) Cooling Air Conditioning Operation

The cooling air conditioning operation is an operation that cools theinterior of the vehicle without cooling the heating element 9. Thecooling air conditioning operation is described while referring to FIG.4.

The machine coolant circuit 41 causes the pump 5 to drive the machinecoolant to flow in the machine coolant circuit 41C without flowingthrough the indoor cooling heat exchangers 6A, 6B by closing the two-wayvalve 21D, 21E and opening the two-way valve 21C. In this way, an uneventemperature rise in the machine coolant in the heating element 9 sectionis prevented by circulating the machine coolant in the machine coolantcircuit 41 even if there is no cooling of the heating element 9. If thetwo-way valve 21A is opened and the two-way valve 21B is closed, themachine coolant flows into the machine coolant circuit 41A, and if thetwo-way valve 21A is closed and the two-way valve 21B is opened, themachine coolant flows into the machine coolant circuit 41B.

The switching dampers 52, 53 within the indoor unit 42 are set as shownin FIG. 4, so that the air suctioned in by the air in/out port 43Apasses through the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A, the indoor airconditioning heat exchanger 7 and the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6B,and is blown out from the air in/out port 43B. No machine coolantcirculates in these indoor cooling heat exchangers 6A, 6B so that thereare no temperature fluctuations in the air passing through the indoorcooling heat exchangers 6A, 6B. The air in/out port 43B is connected tothe indoor (vehicle interior) by a duct not shown in the drawing toregulate (adjust) the indoor temperature.

In this cooling air conditioning operation, the four-way valve 19 andthe three-way valve 20 are connected as shown in FIG. 4, the dispensingpipe 10 of the compressor 1 is connected to the outdoor heat exchanger2, and the intake pipe 11 of the compressor 1 is connected to theintermediate heat exchanger 4 and the indoor air conditioning heatexchanger 7. The expansion valve 22A is fully closed so that no airconditioning coolant flows into the intermediate heat exchanger 4. Inother words, the outdoor heat exchanger 2 serves as a condenser and theindoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7 serves as an evaporator.

After the air conditioning coolant compressed by the compressor 1, isliquefied by the heat discharge from the outdoor heat exchanger 2, theair conditioning coolant passes through the fully opened expansion valve23 and flows into the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7. The airconditioning coolant flowing into the indoor air conditioning heatexchanger 7 is depressurized by the expansion valve 22B and reaches alow temperature, low pressure state, and evaporates due to theabsorption of heat from the air suctioned in the air in/out 43A in theindoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7, and returns by way of thethree-way valve 20 to the compressor 1. The air cooled in this way byheat exchange in the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7 is blownfrom the air in/out port 43B to the interior of the vehicle.

In order to adjust the temperature of the air blown from the air in/outport 43B, the air flow of the internal fan 8, the rotation speed of thecompressor 1, the degree of opening of the expansion valve 22B, and theair flow of the outdoor fan 3 may be regulated. If the blown air is ahigher temperature than the target temperature, the air flow of theindoor fan 8 may be increased, the rotation speed of the compressor 1may be increased, the degree of opening of the expansion valve 22B maybe widened, and the air flow of the indoor fan 8 may be increased. Onthe other hand, if the blown air is a lower temperature than the targettemperature, the air flow of the indoor fan 8 may be decreased, therotation speed of the compressor 1 may be decreased, the degree ofopening of the expansion valve 22B may be narrowed, and the air flow ofthe outdoor fan 3 may be decreased. Not all of the actuators need becontrolled, and just controlling at least one actuator is sufficient.

(5) Cooling Air Conditioning and Machine Cooling Operation

The cooling air conditioning and machine cooling operation is anoperation to cool the heating element 9, and to cool air condition theinterior and are described while referring to FIG. 5. This operationincludes the case where cooling the machine coolant circulating in themachine coolant circuit 41 just by using the indoor cooling heatexchanger 6A, and the case where cooling the machine coolant by usingthe indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A and the intermediate heat exchanger4.

The machine coolant circuit 41 is rendered to circulate machine coolantdriven by the pump 5 in the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A and theintermediate heat exchanger 4 by closing the two-way valves 21C, 21D,and opening the two-way valve 21E. If the two-way valve 21A is opened,and the two-way valve 21B is closed, machine coolant flows in themachine coolant circuit 41A, and if the two-way valve 21A is closed andthe two-way valve 21B is opened then machine coolant flows in themachine coolant circuit 41B. If cooling both the heating elements 9A and9B, the two-way valve 21A is closed, and the two-way valve 21B isopened.

The switching dampers 52, 53 within the indoor unit 42 are set as shownin FIG. 5, so that the air suctioned in by the air in/out port 43Apasses through the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A and is blown fromthe air in/out port 43C. The air in/out port 43C is rendered not to blowair inside by way of a duct not shown in the drawing. Moreover the airsuctioned in from the air in/out port 43D by the indoor fan 8 passesthrough the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7 and is blown fromthe air in/out port 43B. The passage of air through the indoor coolingheat exchanger 6A cools the machine coolant. The air passing through theindoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7 is cooled by the indoor airconditioning heat exchanger 7 and that cooled air is blown inside(inside the vehicle).

In this cooling air conditioning and machine cooling operation, thefour-way valve 19 and the three-way valve 20 are connected as shown inFIG. 5, the dispensing pipe 10 of the compressor 1 is connected to theoutdoor heat exchanger 2, and the intake pipe 11 of the compressor 1 isconnected to the intermediate heat exchanger 4 and the indoor airconditioning heat exchanger 7. Namely, the outdoor heat exchanger 2serves as a condenser and the intermediate heat exchanger 4 and theindoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7 serve as an evaporator.

After the air conditioning coolant compressed by the compressor 1, isliquefied by the heat discharged by the outdoor heat exchanger 2, theair conditioning coolant passes through the fully opened expansion valve23 and flows into the intermediate heat exchanger 4 and the indoor airconditioning heat exchanger 7. The air conditioning coolant flowing intothe intermediate heat exchanger 4 is depressurized by the expansionvalve 22A and reaches a low temperature, low pressure state, andevaporates due to the absorption of heat from the machine coolant in themachine coolant circuit 41 in the intermediate heat exchanger 4, andreturns to the compressor 1 by way of the four-way valve 19. Heatexchange between the machine coolant and air conditioning coolant takesplace in this way in the intermediate heat exchanger 4 and cools themachine coolant. The air conditioning coolant flowing into the indoorair conditioning heat exchanger 7, is depressurized by the expansionvalve 22B, reaches a low temperature, low pressure state, evaporates dueto absorption of heat from the air suctioned in by the air in/out port43D in the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7, and returns to thecompressor by way of the three-way valve 20. The air that washeat-exchanged and cooled by the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger7 in this way is blown inside the vehicle from the air in/out port 43B.

As shown above, the cooling air conditioning of the vehicle interior andthe cooling of the heating element 9 can both be achieved at the sametime by utilizing both the intermediate heat exchanger 4 and the indoorair conditioning heat exchanger 7 as an evaporator. The intermediateheat exchanger 4 and the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7 aremoreover connected in parallel with the intake pipe 11 of compressor 1,and the expansion valves 22A, 22B are mounted on the refrigerating cyclecircuit 90A, 90B so that the flow rates of air conditioning coolantflowing to the intermediate heat exchanger 4 and the indoor airconditioning heat exchanger 7 can be varied as needed. The temperatureof the machine coolant and the temperature of the air conditioningcoolant can consequently be regulated to their respective desiredtemperatures. The temperature of machine coolant flowing inside theheating element 9 can therefore be maintained at a high temperature bysuppressing the coolant flow rate flowing into the intermediate heatexchanger 4 even when the temperature of the air conditioning coolantwas sufficiently lowered in order to carry out cooling air conditioning.

The indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A and intermediate heat exchanger 4can cool the machine coolant as described above. If the machine coolantis a lower temperature than the specified temperature, the machinecoolant is cooled only in the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A withoututilizing the refrigerating cycle circuit 90; and if the machine coolantis a higher temperature than a specified temperature the machine coolantis cooled by the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A and intermediate heatexchanger 4 utilizing the refrigerating cycle circuit 90. This controlis implemented by control to adjust the degree of opening of theexpansion valve 22A. If the expansion valve 22A is fully closed then theair conditioning coolant does not flow to the intermediate heatexchanger 4 so that only the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A cools themachine coolant.

The air flow of the indoor fan 8, the flow rate of the pump 5, therotation speed of the compressor 1, the degree of opening of theexpansion valves 22A, 22B, and the air flow of the outdoor fan 3 may beregulated in order to control the machine coolant temperature and thetemperature of the air blown from the air in/out ports 43B. If themachine coolant is a higher temperature than the target temperature orthe air that is blown is a higher temperature than the targettemperature, the air flow of the indoor fan 8 may be increased, the flowrate of the pump 5 may be increased, the rotation speed of thecompressor 1 may be increased, the degree of opening of expansion valves22A, 22B may be widened, and the air flow of the outdoor fan 3 may beincreased. On the other hand, if the machine coolant is a lowertemperature than the target temperature or the blown air is a lowertemperature than the target temperature, the air flow of the indoor fan8 may be decreased, the flow rate of the pump 5 may be decreased, therotation speed of compressor 1 may be decreased, the degree of openingof expansion valves 22A, 22B may be narrowed, and the air flow of theoutdoor fan 3 may be decreased. Not all of the actuators need beregulated, and regulating at least one of the actuators is sufficient.

(6) Heating Air Conditioning Operation

Heating air conditioning operation is an operation to warm the interiorair of the vehicle without cooling the heating element 9 and isdescribed while referring to FIG. 6.

The machine coolant circuit 41 allows machine coolant driven by the pump5 to flow in the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A and intermediate heatexchanger 4 by opening the two-way valve 21E and closing the two-wayvalves 21C, 21D. If the two-way valve 21A is opened and the two-wayvalve 21B is closed then machine coolant flows in the machine coolantcircuit 41A; and if the two-way valve 21A is closed and the two-wayvalve 21B is opened, then the machine coolant flows in the machinecoolant circuit 41B.

The switching dampers 52, 53 within the indoor unit 42 are set as shownin FIG. 6 so that the air suctioned in by the air in/out port 43A passesthrough the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A, the indoor airconditioning heat exchanger 7, the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6B andis blown out from the air in/out port 43B. Machine coolant warmed by theheating element 9 circulates in this indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A sothat the temperature of the air passing through the indoor cooling heatexchanger 6A rises. The air in/out port 43B connects to the interior(inside of vehicle) and adjusts the interior temperature.

If the heating load is small, the waste heat from the heating element 9can be utilized for heating air conditioning as described above so thatthe refrigeration cycle circuit 90 is not used for heating airconditioning. Utilizing this waste heat allows air conditioning thatcuts energy consumption. Closing the two-way valve 21A, and opening thetwo-way valve 21B allows the machine coolant flow in the machine coolantcircuit 41B and utilizing the waste heat from the heating element 9B forheating air conditioning so that energy consumption can be even furthersuppressed.

If the waste heat from the heating elements 9A, 9B is not sufficient tohandle the heating load, the refrigerating cycle circuit 90 can bejointly added to the waste heat from the heating elements 9A, 9B. Inthat case, the four-way valve 19 and the three-way valve 20 areconnected as shown in FIG. 6, the dispensing valve 10 of compressor 1 isconnected to the intermediate heat exchanger 4 and the indoor airconditioning heat exchanger 7, and the intake pipe 11 is connected tothe outdoor heat exchanger 2. The expansion valve 22A is fully closed,the expansion valve 22B is fully opened, so that no air conditioningcoolant flows in the intermediate heat exchanger 4 and flows only in theindoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7. In other words, the indoor airconditioning heat exchanger 7 serves as a condenser, and the outdoorheat exchanger 2 serves as an evaporator.

The air conditioning coolant compressed by the compressor 1 is condensedand liquefied by heat discharge in the indoor air conditioning heatexchanger 7. Next, after depressurization in the expansion valve 23, theair conditioning coolant is evaporated and gasified by heat exchangewith the vehicle outside air in the outdoor heat exchanger 2 andreturned to the compressor 1.

The air suctioned in by the air in/out port 43A as described above, isheated in the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A by the machine coolantflowing in the machine coolant circuit 41. Also, the air further heatedby heat exchange in the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7 mountedon the downstream side is blown from the air in/out port 43B to theinside. The air blown to the inside in this way is therefore furtherheated in refrigerating cycle circuit 90 after being heated by wasteheat from the heating element 9. The heating of the air by utilizingthis refrigerating cycle circuit 90 supplements the heated airtemperature that might not be fully heated by waste heat from theheating element 9 to attain an air conditioning device having minimalenergy consumption.

In order to regulate the air temperature of the air blown from the airin/out port 43B, the air flow of the indoor fan 8, the flow rate of thepump 5, the rotation speed of the compressor 1, the degree of opening ofthe expansion valve 22B, and air flow of the outdoor fan 3 may beregulated. If the blown air is a lower temperature than the targettemperature, the air flow of the indoor fan 8 may be increased, the flowrate of the pump 5 may be increased, the rotation speed of thecompressor 1 may be increased, the degree of opening of the expansionvalve 22B may be widened, and the air flow of the indoor fan 3 may beincreased. On the other hand, if the blown air is a higher temperaturethan the target temperature, the air flow of the indoor fan 8 may bedecreased, the flow rate of the pump 5 may be decreased, the rotationspeed of the compressor 1 may be decreased, the degree of opening of theexpansion valve 22B may be narrowed, and the air flow of the indoor fan3 may be decreased. Not all of the actuators need be regulated, andregulating at least one of the actuators is sufficient.

(7) Heating Air Conditioning and Machine Cooling Operation

The heating air conditioning and machine cooling operation is anoperation to cool the heating element 9 and heat the interior of thevehicle, and is described while referring to FIG. 7. As described abovefor heating air conditioning operation, if the machine coolant can bemaintained at the target temperature or below by heat discharge in theindoor cooling heat exchanger 6A then a temperature rise in the heatingelement 9 can be prevented. However, if the heat discharged from theindoor cooling heat exchanger 6A is inadequate or if temporarilylowering the temperature of the machine coolant as described later onthen the machine cooling by utilizing the refrigerating cycle circuit 90is required.

In this heating air conditioning and machine cooling operation, thefour-way valve 19 and the three-way valve 20 are connected as shown inFIG. 7, the dispensing pipe 10 of compressor 1 connects to the outdoorheat exchanger 2 and the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7, andthe intake pipe 11 connects to the intermediate heat exchanger 4. Theexpansion valve 23 is fully closed, and the expansion valve 22B fullyopened to prevent the air conditioning coolant from flowing into theoutdoor heat exchanger 2. Namely, the indoor air conditioning heatexchanger 7 functions as a condenser and the intermediate heat exchanger4 functions as an evaporator.

The air conditioning coolant compressed by the compressor 1 is condensedand liquefied by the heat discharged in the indoor air conditioning heatexchanger 7. Next, after depressurization in the expansion valve 22A,the air conditioning coolant is evaporated and gasified by heat exchangewith the machine coolant flowing in the machine coolant circuit 41 inthe intermediate heat exchanger 4, and returned to the compressor 1.Heat exchange between the machine coolant and the air conditioningcoolant take place in the intermediate heat exchanger 4, which cools themachine coolant.

The machine coolant circuit 41 allows machine coolant driven by the pump5 to flow in the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A and the intermediateheat exchanger 4 by opening the two-way valve 21E, and closing thetwo-way valves 21C, 21D. If the two-way valve 21A is opened, and thetwo-way valve 21B is closed, the machine coolant flows into the machinecoolant circuit 41A; and if the two-way valve 21A is closed and thetwo-way valve 21B is opened then the machine coolant flows in themachine coolant circuit 41B.

The switching dampers 52, 53 within the indoor unit 42 are set as shownin FIG. 7, so that the air suctioned in by the air in/out port 43Apasses through the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A, indoor airconditioning heat exchanger 7, and indoor cooling heat exchanger 6B andis blown from the air in/out port 43B. The machine coolant heated by theheating element 9 is circulated in this indoor cooling heat exchanger6A, so that the temperature of the air passing through the indoorcooling heat exchanger 6A rises.

The air further heated by the heat exchange in the indoor airconditioning heat exchanger 7 mounted downstream is blown to inside thevehicle from the air in/out port 43B. The air blown to the inside inthis way is therefore further heated by the refrigerating cycle circuit90 after being heated by waste heat from the heating element 9. The airin/out port 43B connects to the inside (vehicle interior) by way of aduct not shown in the drawing, to adjust the inside temperature.

The machine coolant can be cooled by heat discharge from the indoorcooling heat exchanger 6A and heat exchange by the intermediate heatexchanger 4. The air flow of the indoor fan 8, the flow rate in the pump5, the rotation speed of the compressor 1, the degree of opening of theexpansion valve 22A may be regulated to control the temperature of theair blown from the air in/out port 43B and the temperature of themachine coolant. If the machine coolant is a higher temperature than atarget temperature or the blown air is a lower temperature than thetarget temperature, the air flow of the indoor fan 8 may be increased,the flow rate of the pump 5 may be increased, the rotation speed of thecompressor 1 may be increased, and the degree of opening of theexpansion valve 22A may be widened. On the other hand, if the coolant isa lower temperature than the target temperature, or the blown air is ahigher temperature than the target temperature, the air flow of theindoor fan 8 may be decreased, the flow rate of the pump 5 may bedecreased, the rotation speed of the compressor 1 may be decreased, thedegree of opening of the expansion valve 22A may be narrowed. Not all ofthe actuators need be regulated, and regulating at least one of theactuators is sufficient.

(8) Dehumidifying Operation

The dehumidifying operation is an operation to remove the insidehumidity and is described while referring to FIG. 8.

In the dehumidifying operation, the four-way valve 19 and the three-wayvalve 20 are connected as shown in FIG. 8, the dispensing pipe 10 of thecompressor 1 connects to the outdoor heat exchanger 2, and the intakepipe 11 of the compressor 1 connects to the intermediate heat exchanger4 and the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7. Fully closing theexpansion valve 22A and fully opening the expansion valve 23 preventsthe air conditioning coolant from flowing in the intermediate heatexchanger 4. In other words, the outdoor heat exchanger 2, functions asa condenser, and the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7 functionsas an evaporator.

After the air conditioning coolant compressed by the compressor 1, isliquefied by heat discharge in the outdoor heat exchanger 2, the airconditioning coolant passes through the fully open expansion valve 23and flows into the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7. The airconditioning coolant flowing into the indoor air conditioning heatexchanger 7 is depressurized by the expansion valve 22B and reaches alow temperature, low pressure state, and evaporates due to theabsorption of heat from the air suctioned into the air in/out port 43Ain the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7, and returns to thecompressor 1 by way of the three-way valve 20.

The machine coolant circuit 41 allows machine coolant driven by the pump5 to flow in the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6B and intermediate heatexchanger 4 by opening the two-way valve 21D, and closing the two-wayvalves 21C and 21E. If the two-way valve 21A is opened and the two-wayvalve 21B is closed then machine coolant flows in the machine coolantcircuit 41A; and if the two-way valve 21A is closed and the two-wayvalve 21B is opened, then the machine coolant flows in the machinecoolant circuit 41B.

The switching dampers 52, 53 within the indoor unit 42 are set as shownin FIG. 8, so that the air suctioned in by the air in/out port 43Apasses through the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A, indoor airconditioning heat exchanger 7, and indoor cooling heat exchanger 6B andis blown from the air in/out port 43B. The air that was suctioned in bythe air in/out port 43A is dehumidified and cooled by heat exchange inthe indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7. The machine coolant heatedby the heating element 9 is circulated in this indoor cooling heatexchanger 6B, so that the temperature of the air passing through theindoor cooling heat exchanger 6B rises. So-called reheat dehumidifyingoperation is in this way possible. The relative humidity of the airsupplied to inside the vehicle is in this way lowered so that theinterior space becomes more comfortable. The air in/out port 43Bconnects to the inside (vehicle interior) by way of a duct not shown inthe drawing, to adjust the inside temperature.

The heat source for the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6B utilized as thereheating device is the waste heat generated by the heating element 9.So unlike the case where utilizing a heater or other device forreheating, there is no need to apply new energy and therefore theinterior of the vehicle can be made more comfortable without having toincrease the power consumption.

The air flow of the indoor fan 8, the flow rate of the pump 5, therotation speed of the compressor 1, the degree of opening of theexpansion valve 22B, and the air flow of the outdoor fan 3 may beregulated in order to control the reheat quantity. To increase thereheat quantity, the air flow of the indoor fan 8 may be increased, theflow rate of the pump 5 may be increased, the rotation speed of thecompressor 1 may be increased, the degree of opening of the expansionvalve 22D may be widened, and the air flow of the indoor fan 8 may beincreased. On the other hand, if decreasing the reheat quantity, the airflow of the indoor fan 8 may be decreased, the flow rate of the pump 5may be decreased, the rotation speed of the compressor 1 may bedecreased, the degree of opening of the expansion valve 22B may benarrowed, and the air flow of the outdoor fan 3 may be decreased. Notall of the actuators need be controlled, and just controlling at leastone actuator is sufficient.

(9) Heating Air Conditioning and Dehumidifying Operation

The heating air conditioning and dehumidifying is an operation to heatthe interior and to dehumidify, and is described while referring to FIG.9.

In the heating air conditioning and dehumidifying operation, thefour-way valve 19 and the three-way valve 20 are connected as shown inFIG. 9, the dispensing pipe 10 of the compressor 1 connects to theintermediate heat exchanger 4, and the intake pipe 11 of the compressor1 connects to the outdoor heat exchanger 2 and the indoor airconditioning heat exchanger 7. Fully opening the expansion valve 22A,and fully closing the expansion valve 23 prevents the air conditioningcoolant from flowing into the outdoor heat exchanger 2. In other words,the intermediate heat exchanger 4 functions as a condenser, and theindoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7 functions as an evaporator.

After the air conditioning coolant compressed by the compressor 1, isliquefied by heat discharge from the intermediate heat exchanger 4, theair conditioning coolant passes through the fully opened expansion valve22A and flows into the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7. The airconditioning coolant flowing into the indoor air conditioning heatexchanger 7 is depressurized by the expansion valve 22B and reaches alow temperature, low pressure state, and evaporates due to theabsorption of heat from the air suctioned into the air in/out port 43Ain the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7, and returns to thecompressor 1 by way of the three-way valve 20. In the intermediate heatexchanger 4, heat exchange takes place between the machine coolant andthe air conditioning coolant so that the machine coolant is heated.

The machine coolant circuit 41 allows machine coolant driven by the pump5 to flow in the intermediate heat exchanger 4 and indoor cooling heatexchanger 6B by opening the two-way valve 21D, and closing the two-wayvalves 21C and 21E. If the two-way valve 21A is opened and the two-wayvalve 21B is closed then machine coolant flows in the machine coolantcircuit 41A; and if the two-way valve 21A is closed and the two-wayvalve 21B is opened, then the machine coolant flows in the machinecoolant circuit 41B. If a large amount of waste heat from the heatingelement 9 is utilized, then the two-way valve 21A should be closed andthe two-way valve 21B should be opened.

The switching dampers 52, 53 within the indoor unit 42 are set as shownin FIG. 9, so that the air suctioned in by the air in/out port 43Apasses through the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A, indoor airconditioning heat exchanger 7, and indoor cooling heat exchanger 6B andis blown from the air in/out port 43B. The air that was suctioned in bythe air in/out port 43A is dehumidified and cooled by heat exchange inthe indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7. The machine coolant heatedby the heating element 9 and the intermediate heat exchanger 4 iscirculated in this indoor cooling heat exchanger 6B, so that thetemperature of the air passing through the indoor cooling heat exchanger6B rises. The heating air conditioning and dehumidifying operation is inthis way possible. The air in/out port 43B connects to the inside(vehicle interior) by way of a duct not shown in the drawing, to adjustthe inside temperature.

In order to regulate the temperature of the air blown from the airin/out port 43B, the air flow of the indoor fan 8, the flow rate of thepump 5, the rotation speed of the compressor 1, the degree of opening ofthe expansion valve 22B may be regulated. If the blown air is a lowertemperature than the target temperature, the air flow of the indoor fan8 may be increased, the flow rate of the pump 5 may be increased, therotation speed of the compressor 1 may be increased, and the degree ofopening of the expansion valve 22B may be widened. However, if the blownair is a higher temperature than the target temperature, the air flow ofthe indoor fan 8 may be decreased, the flow rate of the pump 5 may bedecreased, the rotation speed of the compressor 1 may be decreased, andthe degree of opening of the expansion valve 22B may be narrowed. Notall of the actuators need be regulated, and regulating at least one ofthe actuators is sufficient.

(10) Machine Heating Operation

The heating element 9 must sometimes be pre-warmed in situations asengine starting in winter season with low outside air temperatures.Machine heating operation is an operation to warm the heating element 9without utilizing the indoor air conditioning and is described whilereferring to FIG. 10.

In machine heating operation, the four-way valve 19 and the three-wayvalve 20 are connected as shown in FIG. 10, and the dispensing pipe 10of the compressor 1 is connected to the intermediate heat exchanger 4and the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7, and the intake pipe 11of the compressor 1 is connected to the outdoor heat exchanger 2. Fullyopening the expansion valve 22A and fully closing the expansion valve22B prevents the air conditioning coolant from flowing into the indoorair conditioning heat exchanger 7. In other words, the intermediate heatexchanger 4 functions as a condenser and the outdoor heat exchanger 2functions as an evaporator.

After the air conditioning coolant compressed by the compressor 1, isliquefied by heat radiating from the intermediate heat exchanger 4, theair conditioning coolant passes through the fully opened expansion valve22A and flows into the outdoor heat exchanger 2. The air conditioningcoolant flowing into the outdoor heat exchanger 2 is depressurized bythe expansion valve 23 and reaches a low temperature, low pressurestate, and evaporates due to the absorption of heat from the outside airin the outdoor heat exchanger 2, and returns to the compressor 1. In theintermediate heat exchanger 4, heat exchange takes place between themachine coolant and the air conditioning coolant so that the machinecoolant is heated.

The machine coolant circuit 41 closes the two-way valves 21D, 21E, andopens the two-way valve 21C to prevent machine coolant driven by thepump 5 from flowing into the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A and 6B. Ifthe two-way valve 21A is opened and the two-way valve 21B is closed thenmachine coolant flows in the machine coolant circuit 41A; and if thetwo-way valve 21A is closed and the two-way valve 21B is opened, thenthe machine coolant flows in the machine coolant circuit 41B. Thetwo-way valve 21A or 21B is opened to allow the machine coolant to flowto the heating element 9 for heating. The refrigerating cycle circuit 90heats the machine coolant so that the heating element 9 can be heated bycirculating this machine coolant.

The indoor unit 42 does not suction in air or dispense air and does notdrive the indoor fan 8. Also, the indoor cooling heat exchangers 6A and6B, and the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7 do not respectivelyallow machine coolant and air conditioning coolant to flow so there isno heat exchange.

The flow rate of the pump 5, the rotation speed of compressor 1, thedegree of opening of the expansion valve23, and the air flow of theoutdoor fan 3 may be regulated in order to control the heating quantity.The flow rate of the pump 5 may be increased, the rotation speed of thecompressor 1 may be increased, the degree of opening of the expansionvalve 23 may be widened, and the air flow of the outdoor fan 3 may beincreased in order to increase the heat quantity. On the other hand, theflow rate of the pump 5 may be decreased, the rotation speed of thecompressor 1 may be decreased, the degree of opening of the expansionvalve 23 may be narrowed, and the air flow of the outdoor fan 3 may bedecreased in order to decrease the heat quantity. Not all of theactuators need be regulated, and regulating at least one of theactuators is sufficient.

The forming of frost on the outdoor heat exchanger 2 is unavoidable inthe heating air conditioning operation shown in FIG. 6 and the machineheating operation shown in FIG. 10. Defrosting operation is an operationto temporarily switch from heating air conditioning operation andmachine heating operation to remove frost on the outdoor heat exchanger2 and is described while referring to FIG. 11.

(11) Defrosting Operation

In the defrosting operation, the four-way valve 19 and the three-wayvalve 20 are connected as shown in FIG. 11, and the dispensing pipe 10of the compressor 1 is connected to the outdoor heat exchanger 2 and theindoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7, and the intake pipe 11 of thecompressor 1 is connected to the intermediate heat exchanger 4. Theexpansion valves 23, 22B are set to fully open. In other words, theoutdoor heat exchanger 2 and the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger7 function as condensers and the intermediate heat exchanger 4 functionsas an evaporator.

After the air conditioning coolant compressed by the compressor 1, isliquefied by heat discharge in the outdoor heat exchanger 2 and theindoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7, the air conditioning coolantpasses through the fully opened expansion valves 22B, 23 and flows intothe intermediate heat exchanger 4. The frost attached to the outdoorheat exchanger 2 can in this way be removed. The air conditioningcoolant flowing into the intermediate heat exchanger 4 is depressurizedby the expansion valve 22A and reaches a low temperature, low pressurestate, and evaporates due to absorption of heat in the intermediate heatexchanger 4, and returns to the compressor 1. In the intermediate heatexchanger 4, heat exchange takes place between the machine coolant andthe air conditioning coolant so that the machine coolant is cooled.

The machine coolant circuit 41 closes the two-way valves 21D, 21E, andopens the two-way valve 21C to prevent the machine coolant driven by thepump 5 from flowing into the indoor cooling heat exchangers 6A and 6B.If the two-way valve 21A is opened and the two-way valve 21B is closedthen machine coolant flows in the machine coolant circuit 41A; and ifthe two-way valve 21A is closed and the two-way valve 21B is opened,then the machine coolant flows in the machine coolant circuit 41B. Therefrigerating cycle 90 cools the machine coolant so that the heatingelement 9 can be cooled by circulating this machine coolant.

The switching dampers 52, 53 within the indoor unit 42 are set as shownin FIG. 11, so that the air suctioned in by the air in/out port 43Apasses through the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A, indoor airconditioning heat exchanger 7, and indoor cooling heat exchanger 6B andis blown from the air in/out port 43B. The machine coolant is notcirculated within the indoor cooling heat exchangers 6A and 6B so thatthere are no fluctuations in the temperature of the air passing throughthe indoor cooling heat exchangers 6A, 6B.

The air suctioned in by the air in/out port 43A is heated by heatexchange in the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7 and is blownfrom the air in/out port 43B to inside the vehicle. Warm air can in thisway be blown inside the vehicle even during defrosting operation. Theair in/out port 43B connects to the inside of the vehicle (vehicleinterior) by way of a duct not shown in the drawing and adjusts thetemperature inside the vehicle.

The blowing of the heated air inside the vehicle can also be prevented.In the above structure, fully closing the expansion valve 22B and notdriving the indoor fan 8 will prevent the air blow.

In order to regulate the amount of defrosting, the air flow of theindoor fan 8, the flow rate of the pump 5, the rotation speed of thecompressor 1, the degree of opening of the expansion valve 22A, and theair flow of the outdoor fan 3 may be controlled. To increase the amountof defrosting, the air flow of the indoor fan 8 may be increased, theflow rate of the pump 5 may be increased, the rotation speed of thecompressor 1 may be increased, the degree of opening of the expansionvalve 22A may be widened, and the air flow of the outdoor fan 3 may beincreased. On the other hand, to lower the amount of defrosting, the airflow of the indoor fan 8 may be decreased, the flow rate of the pump 5may be decreased, the rotation speed of the compressor 1 may bedecreased, the degree of opening of the expansion valve 22A may benarrowed, and the air flow of the outdoor fan 3 may be decreased. Notall of the actuators need be regulated, and regulating at least one ofthe actuators is sufficient.

(12) Reason for Changing the Indoor Cooling Heat Exchanger UtilizedAccording to the Operating Mode

The above described operating description switches the flow of air inthe indoor unit 42 according to the operating mode. The reason isdescribed next.

When dehumidifying, as shown in FIG. 12, the air must first be cooledand dehumidified in the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7, andthe air next warmed in the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6B. Here, thecase where the heating air conditioning utilizes the waste heat of theheating element 9 in the heat exchangers arrayed as shown in FIG. 12 isdescribed. When air flows in sequence through the indoor airconditioning heat exchanger 7 and the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6Bas shown in FIG. 12, the temperature of the air heated in the indoor airconditioning heat exchanger 7 will drop in the indoor cooling heatexchanger 6B in a state where the machine coolant was not sufficientlywarmed. So if the temperature of the machine coolant flowing into theindoor cooling heat exchanger 6B is low in this way, the machine coolantis set so as not to flow into the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6B. Inother words, heating air conditioning operation that utilizes the wasteheat is not performed. In view of this state, the air should preferablypass in sequence through the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A and theindoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7 as shown in FIG. 13. The reasonis that the air temperature in the indoor air conditioning heatexchanger 7 can be raised even further, after the air temperature wasraised by the machine coolant in the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A.If the temperature of the machine coolant is raised even slightly by theheating element 9, then heating air conditioning operation that utilizesthe waste heat can be implemented. An air conditioning system with lowenergy consumption can in this way be achieved.

As described above, dehumidifying operation is not performed during thepassage of air as shown in FIG. 13. The heat exchange is thereforeswitched to the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A or (indoor cooling heatexchanger) 6B according to the operating mode. In other words, heatexchange is switched to the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6B as shown inFIG. 12 for dehumidifying operation and heating air conditioning anddehumidifying operation; and heat exchange is switched to the indoorcooling heat exchanger 6A as shown in FIG. 13 for all other operatingmodes.

In the case of the machine cooling as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 5, andalso if not warming the vehicle interior, the switching dampers 52, 53are installed so that the air warmed by heat exchange in the indoorcooling heat exchanger 6A does not enter the vehicle interior.

(13) Indoor Unit Placement

The structure of the indoor unit 42 is described next while referring toFIG. 14.

The indoor unit 42 as shown in FIG. 14, is comprised of the indoorcooling heat exchangers 6A, 6B in which the machine coolant flows toperform heat exchange with the air, the indoor air conditioning heatexchanger 7 in which the air conditioning coolant flows to perform heatexchange with the air, the indoor fan 8 for suction of air into theindoor unit 42, and the switching dampers 52, 53 for switching the flowof air within the indoor unit 42.

The indoor cooling heat exchangers 6A, 6B are respectively installed onthe upstream and downstream sides of the indoor air conditioning heatexchanger 7; and the switching dampers 52, 53 and the indoor fan 8 areinstalled between the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7 and theindoor cooling heat exchanger 6A. The indoor unit 42 suctions air by wayof the indoor fan 8 from the air intake ports 43A and 43D and blows airfrom the air dispensing ports 43B, 43C. The switching damper 51 isinstalled on the upstream side of the air intake ports 43A and 43D andswitches between suctioning in air to the inside from the indoor airintake port 54 or suctioning in air from the outside from the outdoorair intake port 55. The air dispensing port 43B for blowing air into theinterior (inside of vehicle), and the air blow to the inside isswitchable to sections such as the driver's feet section or the frontglass by way of a duct not shown in the drawing. The air dispensing port43C blows air to the outside (outside of vehicle) by way of a duct notshown in the drawing.

The switching damper 52 is capable of adjusting the air flow suctionedfrom the air intake port 43D, and is able to vary the degree of thedamper opening. The air suctioned in from the air intake port 43D passesthrough the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7 and the indoorcooling heat exchanger 6B without passing through the indoor coolingheat exchanger 6A, and is blown out from the air dispensing port 43Binto the interior (inside of vehicle).

The switching damper 53 blows the air suctioned from the air intake port43A to outside the vehicle from the air dispensing port 43C or to theinside (interior of vehicle) from the air dispensing port 43B afterpassing through the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A.

The indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A, switching damper 53, airdispensing port 43C, and outdoor air intake port 55 are mounted outside(within the engine frame), and are capable of blowing air to outside thevehicle without the air from air dispensing port 43C flowing inside thevehicle.

(14) Indoor Unit Operation (Difference Per Operating Mode)

The operation of the indoor unit is described next while referring toFIG. 14 through FIG. 17.

In a state with the switching dampers 51, 52, 53 set as shown in FIG.14, the outside air from outside of the vehicle suctioned in by theoutdoor air intake port 55 is blown from the air dispensing port 43B toinside the vehicle. This switching damper 51 position is a setting forcarrying out the so-called intake of outside air. Cooling airconditioning (AC), heating air conditioning (AC), heating (AC) andmachine cooling, dehumidifying, heating (AC) and dehumidifying, anddefrosting operations are performed in this damper setting.

In a state with the switching dampers 51, 52, 53 set as shown in FIG.15, the inside air suctioned inside by the indoor air intake port 54 isblown from the air dispensing port 43B to inside the vehicle. Thisswitching damper 51 position is a setting for carrying out the so-calledinternal air circulation. Cooling air conditioning (AC), heating airconditioning (AC), heating (AC) and machine cooling, dehumidifying,heating (AC) and dehumidifying, and defrosting operations are performedin this damper setting.

In a state with the switching dampers 51, 52, 53 set as shown in FIG.16, the outer air from outside the vehicle suctioned inside by theoutdoor air intake port 55 is blown from the air dispensing port 43C tooutside the vehicle. This switching damper 51 position is a setting forcarrying out the so-called intake of outside air. Machine coolingoperation is carried out in this damper setting.

In a state with the switching dampers 51, 52, 53 set as shown in FIG.17, the outer air from outside of the vehicle suctioned inside by theoutdoor air intake port 55 is blown from the air dispensing port 43B toinside the vehicle, and blown to the outside from the air dispensingport 43C. The position of this switching damper 51 is a setting forcarrying out the so-called intake of outside air however may alsocirculate the internal air. Cooling air conditioning and machine coolingoperation are carried out in this damper setting.

One example of the indoor unit 42 structure was shown above howeverother structures may be utilized if the same effect can be obtained.

(15) Heating Element Description

The heating element 9 mounted in the machine coolant circuit 41 is adevice necessary for adjusting the temperature to within a specifiedrange during vehicular operation in devices mounted in the vehicle. Aspecific example of a heating element 9 includes a drive motor 73, aninverter 72 for driving that drive motor 73, a drive battery 76, and agearbox mounted in the drive system.

When adjusting the temperature of the heating element 9 mounted in themachine coolant circuit 41, those temperature adjustments must be madeaccording to the temperature characteristics of each device. FIG. 18 isa list showing the conditions for the object for temperature adjustment.The vehicle interior and the heating element 9 are objects fortemperature adjustment, and the motor 73, inverter 72, battery 76, andgearbox are shown for the heating element 9.

The interior of the vehicle is air conditioned as needed bycooling/heating air conditioning and dehumidifying based on thetemperature settings and the outside air temperature, etc. However, theair conditioning may be stopped or weakened in some cases in order tocool the heating element 9.

The temperature of the motor 73 and inverter 72 generally become higherwhen generating a high torque. The high torque output time musttherefore be limited in order to not to exceed the specified temperaturerange. The high torque output time can be extended by boosting thecooling performance of the motor 73 and inverter 72. The temperature ofthe machine coolant circulating within the motor 73 and inverter 72 isregulated for example to 60° C. or below.

The temperature of the battery 76 is preferably maintained within aspecified temperature range in order to exhibit satisfactorycharging-discharging performance or in other words to improve thecharging-discharging efficiency. Warming up (machine heating) istherefore required when the battery cell temperature is low (for exampleduring engine starting when the outside temperature is low), and coolingis required when the battery cell temperature has become too high due tothe heat emitted from the battery itself.

The parallel rows of gear teeth in the gearbox are in a state wheresteeped in lubricating oil. The viscosity of the lubricating oil withinthe gearbox case affects the (mechanical) loss during driving, and whenthe lubricating oil temperature is low (during engine starting when theoutside temperatures is low, etc.) so that the stirring (or agitation)loss increases when the gears stir the lubricating oil. Conversely, whenthe lubricating oil temperature is too high, a satisfactory oil filmcannot form on the intermeshing surfaces of the gear teeth so there islarge friction loss. Warming up (machine heating) is therefore necessaryduring cold season (or winter season) engine starting and heat dischargefrom the gearbox must be promoted when the lubricating oil temperatureis high.

(16) Heating Element Placement Description

FIG. 19 is a drawing showing placement of the heating element 9 that isdifferent from FIG. 2. Plural heating elements may be installed, or maybe placed in a parallel, or may be placed in series in the machinecoolant circuit 41.

In the case where the heating elements 9 are arrayed in parallel, thedevices may be grouped into devices requiring warm up (battery 76,gearbox) and devices not requiring warm up (inverter 72, motor 73). Inthe structure in FIG. 19, the inverter 72 and motor 72 for example arethe heating element 9A, the battery 76 is the heating element 9C, andthe gearbox is the heating element 9B. The two-way valves 21A, 21B, 21Fare installed in each of the device cooling circuits. Utilizing thistype of placement allows adjusting to a satisfactory temperature on eachline.

All of the heating elements can be placed in parallel however such aplacement is not desirable since an increased number of parts areutilized. Moreover, the battery 76 and gearbox may be arrayed in serieshowever in view of the fact that in a typical vehicle mounting state thedrive battery is typically mounted below the seat, and the gearbox isinstalled in the vicinity of the drive shaft, the structure as shown inFIG. 19 is preferable.

When arraying the heating elements in series, the lower the temperaturesetting of the heating element the farther upstream it is placedrelative to the flow of the machine coolant. Placement examples of theheating element 9 are shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 19 but the same placementneed not always be required and another placement may be utilized if thesame effect is obtained.

In the present embodiment, employing the above structure for the airconditioner 60, allows separately regulating the machine cooling andheating of heating elements 9 such as the vehicular air conditioner andmotor and inverter. The air conditioning control device 61 can controlthe air conditioner 60 so that the vehicle interior temperature and thetemperature of devices requiring temperature adjustment can attain theirrespective temperature settings.

(17) Control Flow

In the present invention, air conditioning control device 61 as shown inFIG. 1, loads the vehicle operating information (vehicle speedinformation, acceleration opening information, etc.) and drive scheduleinformation 65, and controls the air conditioner 60 based on thatinformation and the temperature 63 for devices requiring temperatureadjustment and the vehicle indoor temperature 62. This flow for example,predicts temperature fluctuations in the vehicle interior and devicerequiring temperature adjustment and by changing the temperaturesettings for the air conditioning coolant and machine coolant in advancebased on that prediction, can efficiently perform cooling and warm up ineach device for ideal control of the device temperatures.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart of the control processing program in the airconditioning control device 61. The microcomputer installed in the airconditioning control device 61 implements the processing shown in FIG.20 in sequence, by the software processing. Turning on the vehicleignition key switch starts the processing of the program shown in FIG.20 by the microcomputer.

In step S1, the processing sets the default temperature setting for theair conditioning coolant utilized for the vehicular air conditioning andthe machine coolant utilized in the cooling and heating of the heatingelement 9. The default temperature for example is a temperature assumedcorrect for driving on a level road at a specified speed and a normaloutside air temperature.

In step S2, the processing decides whether there is an air conditioningsystem drive instruction. If the vehicular air conditioning system is adriven by a structure on and off vehicle switching, then the presence ofan air conditioning system drive instruction is determined by whetherthe vehicle on/off switch has been set to on or not. If a NO is decidedin step S2, the program in FIG. 20 ends. However if a YES was decided instep S2, then the processing proceeds to step S3.

In step S3, temperature fluctuations in the vehicle, heating element orair conditioning coolant or machine coolant that are the objects fortemperature adjustment are predicted based on at least one from amongthe vehicle operating information 64, the (drive) schedule information65, detection temperature of each heating element 9 and detectiontemperature of the coolant.

In step S4, a decision is made on whether the temperature setting of theair conditioning coolant and machine coolant must be changed based onthe predicted temperature fluctuation found in step S3.

If decided in step S4 that the temperature setting must be changed, theprocessing proceeds to step S5, changes the coolant temperature setting,and the processing proceeds to step S6. On the other hand, if thepredicted temperature is calculated and decided that no change isnecessary, then step S5 is skipped and the processing proceeds to stepS6.

In step S6, each actuator of the air conditioner 60 shown in FIG. 1 iscontrolled so as to change the current temperature of the coolant basedon the changed temperature setting.

In the above description, the processing attempted to change thetemperature setting of the coolant in step S4 through step S6, howeverthe temperature setting of the heating element 9 (within vehicle, eachdevice) may be changed instead.

(18) Changing the Heating Element Temperature Setting

The vehicle status and the changing the temperature setting of theheating element 9 serving as the object requiring temperature adjustmentis described while referring to FIG. 21. The vehicle status is based onthe vehicle operating information 64 which includes detection signalsfrom acceleration sensor and vehicle speed sensor, and (drive) scheduleinformation 65 from the navigation device. In FIG. 21, nine types ofvehicle status including: during charging, before starting driving,before vehicle starts moving, acceleration/deceleration and before andduring driving mountain roads, during driving on ordinary roads, beforeand during driving on high-speed roads, before temporary stops (e.g.waiting for signal to change, traffic jams, etc.), before vehicle stops,while vehicle is stopped were described, however the objects for airconditioning are not limited to these vehicle states. Moreover, theobjects for air conditioning are the vehicle interior, motor, inverter,battery, and gearbox.

The driver's intent (to accelerate, etc.) can be determined from thevehicle operating information 64 (vehicle speed, acceleration opening).The (drive) schedule information 65 is road information (traffic jamsituation, road gradient) to the target destination and targetdestination information from the navigation device. The amount of heatemitted from the heating element 9 is predicted from the expected motoroutput and vehicle internal air conditioning output, and changes made totemperature setting within the vehicle and temperature setting for theobject device for temperature adjustment.

If the driver intention to accelerate is for example predicted from thevehicle operating information 64, then the temperature setting for themotor and inverter are lowered in order to cool motor and inverterbeforehand. If mountain road driving is predicted from the (drive)schedule information 65 then the temperature setting for the motor andthe inverter is lowered below the default setting. The default settingis a setting assumed for ordinary driving on a level road. The flow ofmachine coolant is regulated and heating or cooling air conditioningperformed so as to reach a specified temperature range for satisfactorycharging/discharging without changing the battery temperature setting.The gearbox temperature setting is also left unchanged.

During charging, the (engine) warm-up or the cooling is regulated sothat the battery temperature during charging reaches the specifiedtemperature range without changing the temperature setting. There is nocooling-heating air conditioning and no cooling or warm-up of thevehicle interior, motor, inverter, and gearbox.

Before starting driving, this status assumes that the battery of theparked vehicle will be charged from the AC power supply. In this case,the interior of the vehicle is cooled or heated by air conditioning froman AC power supply in advance so that the vehicle interior temperaturewill be comfortable before driving starts.

In a vehicle state before the vehicle starts moving, all objects fortemperature adjustment are set to a state with no changes in temperaturesetting in order to prepare for immediate driving, (for driving justafter starting) and battery cooling and warm-up, and gearbox warm-upperformed. Before driving the vehicle, the battery and gearbox arewarmed up the same as before starting driving or the vehicle startsmoving, in order to boost efficiency during driving.

When the vehicle status is ordinary road driving or in other words in astandard vehicle state, then a state is set where no temperature settingchanges are made to all objects for temperature adjustment.

Also, for vehicle states during driving and before driving on high speedroads, the motor output increases the same as during mountain roaddriving so that the air conditioning and temperature settings areregulated the same as when driving mountain roads.

In a temporarily stopped state such as waiting for signal to change orin traffic jams, the heat emitted by the motor and inverter is lowercompared to the state when driving, so that the temperature does notrise even with smaller cooling performance, and consequently the motorand inverter temperature setting rises in order to weaken the coolingperformance. Consequently, energy can be saved and the temperature rangeof the battery temperature setting is widened.

In a state where stopping of the vehicle is expected (before stopping)from the drive schedule information such as when arriving at the targetdestination, the temperature settings for the motor, inverter, andbattery are set the same as for before a temporary stop. However, sincedriving of the vehicle is predicted to stop, the cooling and heating airconditioning inside the vehicle and the cooling and warm-up of thegearbox are stopped in advance to save energy.

Moreover, when the vehicle is stopped, the cooling/heating airconditioning of the vehicle interior and the cooling and warm-up of alldevices that are objects for temperature adjustment are stopped.

In a state where air conditioning of the vehicle interior and cooling orwarm-up of each device are performed, priority is given to cooling orwarm-up of each device rather than air conditioning of the vehicleinterior, when the temperature of each device is near the uppertemperature limit.

In the control shown in the flow chart described in FIG. 20, thetemperature fluctuation is predicted in step S3, and the temperaturesetting (target temperature) of the coolant changed based on the thatprediction data. However, the vehicle status shown in FIG. 21 can bepredicted from the vehicle operating information 64 and the (drive)schedule information and changing the temperature setting may bedirectly determined from that prediction data.

(19) EV Control Device Description

Next, the structure of the control device for the electric car in whichthe vehicular air conditioning system of the present invention isinstalled is described while referring to FIG. 22. The control devicefor electric cars is comprised of a vehicular control device 70 tocontrol the entire vehicle, an air conditioning control device 61 tocontrol the air conditioner 60, a drive controller device 71 to controldriving of a motor 73, an inverter 72, and the brake 74, and a batterycontrol device 75 to manage the power of the battery 76. There are othercontrol devices than described above but those control devices areomitted from the present embodiment.

The air conditioning control device 61 controls the switching operationin the air conditioner 60 described above in FIG. 3 through FIG. 11 andregulates the temperature of the machine coolant and the airconditioning coolant shown in FIG. 20. The air conditioning controldevice 61 is integrated into a single unit with the air conditioner 60or made a structure integrated with a section of the air conditioner 60then the mounting capability of this equipment into the vehicle can beimproved.

Moreover, forming at least one among the vehicular control device 70,the drive controller device 71, and the battery control device 75 intoan integrated structure with the air conditioning control device 61 willallow eliminating wiring between control devices and clamping hardwarefor installation in the vehicle.

In the following embodiment a heater is installed instead of the indoorcooling heat exchanger 6B shown in the above described embodiment.

(20) Air Conditioner Structure

FIG. 23 is a drawing showing the overall structure of the airconditioner 60 of another embodiment of the present invention. The airconditioner 60 includes a refrigeration cycle circuit 90 for circulatingthe air conditioning coolant (e.g. refrigerant) to cool the heatingelement 9 and for indoor air conditioning the same as for the airconditioner shown in FIG. 2; and a machine coolant circuit 41 tocirculate the machine coolant (e.g. cooling water) for cooling theheating element 9.

A compressor 1 to compress the coolant, an outdoor heat exchanger 2 tocarry out heat exchange between the air conditioning coolant and theoutside air, an intermediate heat exchanger 4 within the branchingrefrigerating cycle circuit 90A to carry out heat exchange between theair conditioning coolant and the machine coolant flowing within themachine coolant circuit 41; and an indoor air conditioning heatexchanger 7 within the refrigerating cycle circuit 90B to carry out heatexchange between the air conditioning coolant and the vehicle interiorair are connected to the refrigerating cycle circuit 90 by way of afluid pipe for circulating the air conditioning coolant.

A four-way valve 19 is installed between the intake pipe 11 and thedispensing pipe 10 of the compressor 1. Switching the four-way valve 19allows connecting either of the intake pipe 11 and dispensing pipe 10 tothe outdoor heat exchanger 2, and connecting the other to theintermediate heat exchanger 4 and the indoor air conditioning heatexchanger 7. The four-way valve 19 shown in FIG. 23, connects thedispensing pipe 10 to the outdoor heat exchanger 2, and connects thedispensing pipe 11 to the intermediate heat exchanger 4.

One end of the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7 is connected tothe outdoor heat exchanger 2, and the other end is connected by way ofthe three-way valve 20 to allow switching to either of the intake pipe11 or the dispensing pipe 10 of the compressor 1. The expansion valves23, 22A, 22B functioning as the flow rate control method for the airconditioning coolant are respectively mounted on the side not connectedto the compressor 1 of the outdoor heat exchanger 2, between theintermediate heat exchanger 4 and the outdoor heat exchanger 2, andbetween the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7 and the outdoorheat exchanger 2. The outdoor heat exchanger 2 contains an outside airfan 3 for blowing outside air.

The machine coolant circuit 41 is connected in sequence in a ring-shapedlayout to an indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A to perform heat exchangebetween the vehicle interior air flow and the machine coolant, theintermediate heat exchanger 4, the pump 5 to circulate the machinecoolant within the machine coolant circuit 41, and the heating element 9as the device requiring temperature adjustment.

A bypass circuit 41C functioning as a bypass on both ends of the indoorcoolant exchanger 6A is mounted in the machine coolant circuit 41. Atwo-way valve 21C is mounted along the bypass circuit 41C, a two-wayvalve 21E is mounted on the circuit 41E passing through the indoorcooling heat exchanger 6A. The opening and closing action of thesetwo-way valves 21C, 21E allows switching the flow paths for the machinecoolant. Moreover, the two-way valves are connected as shown in FIG. 23in the machine coolant circuit 41 in order to regulate the temperatureof the plural heating elements 9A, 9B. A two-way valve 21B is installedin the machine coolant circuit 41B containing the heating element 9B,and a two-way valve 21A is installed in the machine coolant circuit 41Anot passing through the heating element 9B. The temperature of both theheating elements 9A, 9B can in this way be regulated when the two-wayvalve 21A is closed and the two-way valve 21B is opened. However onlythe temperature of the heating element 9A can be regulated when thetwo-way valve 21A is opened and the two-way valve 2B is closed. Pluralheating elements 9 may even be connected in series at the heatingelement 9A position. The method for connecting the heating elements 9,and the method for installing the two-way valves can be changedaccording to the heating element temperature conditions.

To provide indoor air conditioning, the indoor unit 42 blowing thetemperature-regulated air contains the indoor fans 8A, 8B to suctionindoor (in-vehicle) or outdoor (outside the vehicle) air, and blow theair to inside the vehicle or outside the vehicle, an indoor coolant heatexchanger 6A, the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7, theswitching damper 53 to blow the air that was heat-exchanged in theindoor cooling heat exchanger 6A to inside the vehicle or outside thevehicle, a heater 56 to warm the air that was heat-exchanged by theindoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7, and the air in/out ports 43A,43B, 43C, 43D to suction the vehicle inside or vehicle outside air, orblow air to inside the vehicle or outside the vehicle.

The heater 56 is an electrical heater, and is switched on or off byapplying or cutting off the electrical power.

The operation of the air conditioner 60 shown in FIG. 23 is describednext. In the present embodiment, the temperature of the heating element9 is adjusted by the pump circulating the machine coolant. The operationof the other machines varies according to the heat amount emitted fromthe air conditioning load and the heating element 9. In the followingdescription, the machine cooling, cooling air conditioning, cooling airconditioning+machine cooling, heating air conditioning, heating airconditioning+machine cooling, dehumidifying, machine heating, anddefrosting operation are described.

(21) Machine Cooling Operation

Machine cooling operation is the operation to cool the heating element 9in a state where there is no vehicle indoor air conditioning and isdescribed while referring to FIG. 24. This operation is utilized whenthe indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A is only cooling the machine coolantcirculating in the machine coolant circuit 41; and when the indoorcooling heat exchanger 6A and intermediate heat exchanger 4 are coolingthe machine coolant.

Closing the two-way valve 21C and opening the two-way valve 21E in themachine coolant circuit 41 causes the machine coolant driven by the pump5 to circulate in the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A and theintermediate heat exchanger 4. Machine coolant flows in the machinecoolant circuit 41A when the two-way valve 21B is closed, and thetwo-way valve 21A is opened. Machine coolant flows in the machinecoolant circuit 41B when the two-way valve 21A is closed and the two-wayvalve 21B is opened. If cooling both the heating elements 9A, 9B, thetwo-way valve 21A is closed and the two-way valve 21B is opened.

As shown in FIG. 24, the switching damper 53 within the indoor unit 42is set so that the air suctioned into by the air in/out port 43A passesthrough the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A and is blown from the airin/out port 43C. The passage of air through this indoor cooling heatexchanger 6A cools the machine coolant. The cooling capability canmoreover be adjusted by way of the air flow suctioned in by the indoorfan 8A. The air in/out port 43C is configured by way of a duct not shownin the figure so as not to blow warm air into the vehicle.

When the intermediate heat exchanger 4 is cooling the machine coolant,the four-way valve 19 and the three-way valve 20 are connected as shownin FIG. 24, and the dispensing pipe 10 of the compressor 1 is connectedto the outdoor heat exchanger 2, and the intake pipe 11 of thecompressor 1 is connected to the intermediate heat exchanger 4 and theindoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7. The expansion valve 22B isfully closed so that no air conditioning coolant flows into the indoorair conditioning heat exchanger 7. The outdoor heat exchanger 2 in otherwords serves as a condenser and the intermediate heat exchanger 4 servesas an evaporator.

After the air conditioning coolant compressed by the compressor 1 isliquefied by the heat radiating from the outdoor heat exchanger 2, theair conditioning coolant passes through the fully opened expansion valve23 and flows into the intermediate heat exchanger 4. The airconditioning coolant flowing into the intermediate heat exchanger 4 isdepressurized by the expansion valve 22A and reaches a low temperature,low pressure state, and the machine coolant in the machine coolantcircuit 41 evaporates from the absorption of heat in the intermediateheat exchanger 4, and returns by way of the four-way valve 19 to thecompressor 1. Heat exchange between the machine coolant and the airconditioning coolant takes place in the intermediate heat exchanger 4 byutilizing the refrigeration cycle circuit 90 to cool the machinecoolant.

The machine coolant can in this way be cooled by the indoor cooling heatexchanger 6A and the intermediate heat exchanger 4. When the machinecoolant is a lower temperature than the specified temperature, themachine coolant is cooled only in the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6Awithout utilizing the refrigeration cycle circuit 90, and when themachine coolant is a higher temperature than the specified temperature,the machine coolant is cooled in the intermediate heat exchanger 4 andthe indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A by utilizing the refrigerationcycle circuit 90.

The temperature of the machine coolant can be regulated by controllingthe air flow of the indoor fan 8A, the flow rate of the pump 5, therotation speed of the compressor 1, the degree of opening of theexpansion valve 22A, and the flow rate of the outdoor fan 3. If themachine coolant is a higher temperature, the air flow of the indoor fan8A may be increased, the flow rate of the pump 5 may be increased, therotation speed of the compressor 1 may be increased, the degree ofopening of the expansion valve 22A may be widened, and the air flow ofthe outdoor fan 3 may be increased. On the other hand, if the machinecoolant is a lower temperature, the air flow of the indoor fan 8A may bedecreased, the flow rate of the pump 5 may be decreased, the rotationspeed of the compressor 1 may be decreased, the degree of opening of theexpansion valve 22A be narrowed, and the air flow of the outdoor fan 3may be decreased. Not all of the actuators need be controlled, and justcontrolling at least one actuator is sufficient.

(22) Cooling Air Conditioning Operation

The cooling air conditioning operation is an operation that cools theinterior of the vehicle without cooling the heating element 9. Thecooling air conditioning operation is described next while referring toFIG. 25.

The machine coolant circuit 41 causes the pump 5 to drive the machinecoolant to flow in the machine coolant circuit 41C without flowingthrough the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A, by closing the two-wayvalve 21E and opening the two-valve 21C. In this way, an uneventemperature rise in the machine coolant in the heating element 9 sectionis prevented by circulating the machine coolant in the machine coolantcircuit 41 even if there is no cooling of the heating element 9. If thetwo-way valve 21A is opened and the two-way valve 21B is closed, themachine coolant flows into the machine coolant circuit 41A, and if thetwo-way valve 21A is closed and the two-way valve 21B is opened, themachine coolant flows into the machine coolant circuit 41B.

The switching damper 53 within the indoor unit 42 is set as shown inFIG. 24 so that the air suctioned in by the air in/out port 43A passesthrough the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A and the indoor airconditioning heat exchanger 7, and is blown out from the air in/out port43B. No machine coolant circulates in the indoor cooling heat exchanger6A so that there are no temperature fluctuations in the air passingthrough the indoor cooling heat exchangers 6A. The air in/out port 43Bis connected by a duct not shown in the drawing to regulates the indoor(vehicle interior) temperature.

In this cooling air conditioning operation, the four-way valve 19 andthe three-way valve 20 are connected as shown in FIG. 25, the dispensingpipe 10 of the compressor 1 is connected to the outdoor heat exchanger2, and the intake pipe 11 of the compressor 1 is connected to theintermediate heat exchanger 4 and the indoor air conditioning heatexchanger 7. The expansion valve 22A is fully closed so that no airconditioning coolant flows into the intermediate heat exchanger 4. Inother words, the outdoor heat exchanger 2 serves as a condenser and theindoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7 serves as an evaporator.

After the air conditioning coolant compressed by the compressor 1 isliquefied by the heat discharge in the outdoor heat exchanger 2, the airconditioning coolant passes through the fully opened expansion valve 23and flows into the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7. The airconditioning coolant flowing into the indoor air conditioning heatexchanger 7 is depressurized by the expansion valve 22B and reaches alow temperature, low pressure state, and evaporates due to theabsorption of heat from the air suctioned in by the air in/out port 43Bin the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7, and returns by way ofthe three-way valve 20 to the compressor 1. The air cooled in this wayby heat exchange in the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7 isblown from the air in/out port 43B to the interior of the vehicle.

The air flow of the internal fan 8A, the rotation speed of thecompressor 1, the degree of opening of the expansion valve 22B, the airflow of the outdoor fan 3 may be regulated in order to adjust thetemperature of the air blown from the air in/out port 43B. If the blownair is a higher temperature than the target temperature, the air flow ofthe indoor fan 8A may be increased, the rotation speed of the compressor1 may be increased, the degree of opening of the expansion valve 22B maybe widened, and the air flow of the indoor fan 3 may be increased. Onthe other hand, if the air blow is a lower temperature than the targettemperature, the air flow of the indoor fan 8A may be decreased, therotation speed of the compressor 1 may be decreased, the degree ofopening of the expansion valve 22B may be narrowed, and the air flow ofthe outdoor fan 3 may be decreased. Not all of the actuators need becontrolled, and just controlling at least one actuator is sufficient.

(23) Cooling Air Conditioning and Machine Cooling Operation

The cooling air conditioning and machine cooling is an operation to coolthe heating element 9 and to cool air condition the vehicle interior,and is described while referring to FIG. 26. This operation includes thecase where cooling the machine coolant circulating in the machinecoolant circuit 41 just by using the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A,and the case where cooling the machine coolant by using the indoorcooling heat exchanger 6A and the intermediate heat exchanger 4.

The machine coolant circuit 41 is rendered to circulate machine coolantdriven by the pump 5 in the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A and theintermediate heat exchanger 4 by closing the two-way valve 21C andopening the two-way valve 21E. If the two-way valve 21A is open, and thetwo-way valve 21B is closed, machine coolant flows in the machinecoolant circuit 41A, and if the two-way valve 21A is closed and thetwo-way valve 21B is opened then machine coolant flows in the machinecoolant circuit 41B. If cooling both the heating elements 9A and 9B, thetwo-way valve 21A is closed, and the two-way valve 21B is opened.

The switching damper 53 within the indoor unit 42 is set as shown inFIG. 26, so that the air suctioned in by the air in/out port 43A passesthrough the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A and is blown from the airin/out port 43C. The air in/out port 43C is rendered not to blow airinside the vehicle by way of a duct not shown in the drawing. Moreoverthe air suctioned in from the air in/out port 43D by the indoor fan 8Bpasses through the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7 and is blownfrom the air in/out port 43B. The passage of air through the indoorcooling heat exchanger 6A can cool the machine coolant. The air passingthrough the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7 is cooled by theindoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7 and that cooled air is blowninside (inside the vehicle).

In this cooling air conditioning and machine cooling operation, thefour-way valve 19 and the three-way valve 20 are connected as shown inFIG. 26, the dispensing pipe 10 of the compressor 1 is connected to theoutdoor heat exchanger 2, and the intake pipe 11 of the compressor 1 isconnected to the intermediate heat exchanger 4 and the indoor airconditioning heat exchanger 7. Namely, the outdoor heat exchanger 2serves as a condenser and the intermediate heat exchanger 4 and theindoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7 serve as evaporators.

After the air conditioning coolant compressed by the compressor 1, isliquefied by the heat discharge from the outdoor heat exchanger 2, theair conditioning coolant passes through the fully opened expansion valve23 and flows into the intermediate heat exchanger 4 and the indoor airconditioning heat exchanger 7. The air conditioning coolant flowing intothe intermediate heat exchanger 4 is depressurized by the expansionvalve 22A and reaches a low temperature, low pressure state, andevaporates due to the absorption of heat from the machine coolant in themachine coolant circuit 41 in the intermediate heat exchanger 4, andreturns to the compressor 1 by way of the four-way valve 19. Heatexchange between the machine coolant and air conditioning coolant takesplace in this way in the intermediate heat exchanger 4 and cools themachine coolant. The air conditioning coolant flowing into the indoorair conditioning heat exchanger 7, is depressurized by the expansionvalve 22B, reaches a low temperature, low pressure state, evaporates dueto absorption of heat from the air suctioned from the air in/out port43D in the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7, and returns to thecompressor by way of the three-way valve 20. The air that washeat-exchanged and cooled by the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger7 in this way is blown to inside the vehicle from the air in/out port43B.

As shown above, the cooling air conditioning of the vehicle interior andthe cooling of the heating element 9 can both be achieved at the sametime by utilizing both the intermediate heat exchanger 4 and the indoorair conditioning heat exchanger 7 as an evaporator. The intermediateheat exchanger 4 and the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7 aremoreover connected in parallel with the intake pipe 11 of compressor 1,and the expansion valves 22A, 22B are mounted on the refrigerating cyclecircuit 90A, 90B so that the flow rates of air conditioning coolantflowing to the intermediate heat exchanger 4 and the indoor airconditioning heat exchanger 7 can each be varied as needed. Thetemperature of the machine coolant and the temperature of the airconditioning coolant can consequently be regulated to their respectivedesired temperatures. The temperature of machine coolant flowing insidethe heating element 9 can therefore be maintained at a high temperatureby suppressing the flow rate of coolant flowing into the intermediateheat exchanger 4, even when the temperature of the air conditioningcoolant was sufficiently lowered in order to carry out cooling airconditioning.

The indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A and intermediate heat exchanger 4can cool the machine coolant as described above. If the machine coolantis a lower temperature than the specified temperature, the machinecoolant is cooled only in the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A withoututilizing the refrigerating cycle circuit 90; and if the machine coolantis a higher temperature than a specified temperature the machine coolantis cooled by the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A and intermediate heatexchanger 4 utilizing the refrigerating cycle circuit 90. Thisregulation is implemented by control to adjust the degree of opening ofthe expansion valve 22A. If the expansion valve 22A is fully closed thenthe air conditioning coolant does not flow to the intermediate heatexchanger 4 so that only the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A cools themachine coolant.

The air flow of the indoor fans 8A, 8B, the flow rate of the pump 5, therotation speed of the compressor 1, the degree of opening of theexpansion valves 22A, 22B, and air flow of the outdoor fan 3 may beregulated in order to control the machine coolant temperature and thetemperature of the air blown from the air in/out ports 43B. If themachine coolant is a higher temperature than the target temperature orthe air that is blown is a higher temperature than the targettemperature, the air blow of the indoor fans 8A, 8B may be increased,the flow rate of the pump 5 may be increased, the rotation speed of thecompressor 1 may be increased, the degree of opening of expansion valves22A, 22B may be widened, and the air flow of the outdoor fan 3 may beincreased. On the other hand, if the machine coolant is a lowertemperature than the target temperature or the blown air is a lowertemperature than the target temperature, the air flow of the indoor fans8A, 8B may be decreased, the flow rate of the pump 5 may be decreased,the rotation speed of compressor 1 may be decreased, the degree ofopening of expansion valves 22A, 22B may be narrowed, and the air flowof the outdoor fan 3 may be decreased. Not all of the actuators need beregulated, and regulating at least one of the actuators is sufficient.

(24) Heating Air Conditioning Operation

Heating air conditioning is an operation to warm the interior air of thevehicle without cooling the heating element 9 and is described whilereferring to FIG. 27.

The machine coolant circuit 41 allows machine coolant driven by the pump5 to flow in the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A and the intermediateheat exchanger 4 by opening the two-way valve 21E and closing thetwo-way valves 21C. If the two-way valve 21A is opened and the two-wayvalve 21B is closed then machine coolant flows in the machine coolantcircuit 41A; and if the two-way valve 21A is closed and the two-wayvalve 21B is opened, then the machine coolant flows in the machinecoolant circuit 41B.

The switching damper 53 within the indoor unit 42 are set as shown inFIG. 27 so that the air suctioned in by the air in/out port 43A passesthrough the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A and the indoor airconditioning heat exchanger 7 and is blown out from the air in/out port43B. Machine coolant warmed by the heating element 9 circulates in thisindoor cooling heat exchanger 6A so that the temperature of the airpassing through the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A rises. The airin/out port 43B connects to the interior (inside of vehicle) andregulates the interior temperature.

If the heating load is small, the waste heat from the heating element 9can be utilized for heating air conditioning as described above so thatthe refrigeration cycle circuit 90 is not used for heating airconditioning. Utilizing this waste heat allows air conditioning thatcuts energy consumption. Closing the two-way valve 21A, and opening thetwo-way valve 21B allows the machine coolant flow in the machine coolantcircuit 41B and utilizing the waste heat from the heating element 9B forheating air conditioning and so can suppress energy consumption evenfurther.

If the waste heat from the heating elements 9A, 9B alone is notsufficient to handle the heating load, the refrigerating cycle circuit90 can be jointly added to the waste heat from the heating elements 9A,9B. In that case, the four-way valve 19 and the three-way valve 20 areconnected as shown in FIG. 27, the dispensing pipe 10 of compressor 1 isconnected to the intermediate heat exchanger 4 and the indoor airconditioning heat exchanger 7, and the intake pipe 11 is connected tothe outdoor heat exchanger 2. The expansion valve 22A is fully closed,the expansion valve 22B is fully opened, so that no air conditioningcoolant flows in the intermediate heat exchanger 4 and flows only in theindoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7. In other words, the indoor airconditioning heat exchanger 7 serves as a condenser, and the outdoorheat exchanger 2 serves as an evaporator.

The air conditioning coolant compressed by the compressor 1 is condensedand liquefied by heat discharge in the indoor air conditioning heatexchanger 7. Next, after depressurization in the expansion valve 23, theair conditioning coolant is evaporated and gasified by heat exchangewith the vehicle outside air in the outdoor heat exchanger 2 andreturned to the compressor 1.

The air suctioned in by the air in/out port 43A as described above, isheated in the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A by the machine coolantflowing in the machine coolant circuit 41. Also, the air further heatedby heat exchange in the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7 mountedon the downstream side is blown from the air in/out port 43B to theinside of the vehicle. The air blown to the inside in this way istherefore further heated in the refrigerating cycle circuit 90 afterbeing heated by waste heat from the heating element 9. The heating ofthe air by utilizing this refrigerating cycle circuit 90 supplements theheated air temperature that might not be fully heated by waste heat fromthe heating element 9 to attain an air conditioning device havingminimal energy consumption.

If performance is still insufficient even after using the refrigeratingcycle circuit 90 to heat the air, then the air blown from the air in/outport 43B can be further heated by turning the heater 56 on.

In order to regulate the temperature of the air blown from the airin/out port 43B, the air flow of the indoor fan 8A, the flow rate of thepump 5, the degree of opening of the expansion valve 22B, and the airflow of the outdoor fan 3 may be regulated. If the blown air is a lowertemperature than the target temperature, the air flow of the indoor fan8A may be increased, the flow rate of the pump 5 may be increased, therotation speed of the compressor 1 may be increased, the degree ofopening of the expansion valve 22B may be widened, and the air flow ofthe indoor fan may be increased. On the other hand, if the blown air isa higher temperature than the target temperature, the air flow of theindoor fan 8A may be decreased, the flow rate of the pump 5 may bedecreased, the rotation speed of the compressor 1 may be decreased, thedegree of opening of the expansion valve 22B may be narrowed, and theair flow of the outdoor fan 3 may be decreased. Not all of the actuatorsneed be regulated, and regulating at least one of the actuators issufficient.

(25) Heating Air Conditioning and Machine Cooling Operation

The heating air conditioning and machine cooling operation is anoperation to cool the heating element 9 and heat the interior of thevehicle, and is described while referring to FIG. 28. If the machinecoolant can be maintained at the target temperature or below by heatdischarge from the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A as was describedabove in the heating air conditioning operation then a temperature risein the heating element 9 can be prevented. However, if the heatdischarged from the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A is inadequate or iftemporarily lowering the temperature of the machine coolant as describedlater on then heating of the machine coolant by utilizing therefrigerating cycle circuit 90 is required.

In this heating air conditioning and machine cooling operation, thefour-way valve 19 and the three-way valve 20 are connected as shown inFIG. 28, the dispensing pipe 10 of compressor 1 connects to the indoorheat exchanger 2 and the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7, andthe intake pipe 11 connects to the intermediate heat exchanger 4. Theexpansion valve 23 is fully closed, and the expansion valve 22B fullyopened to prevent the air conditioning coolant from flowing into theoutdoor heat exchanger 2. Namely, the indoor air conditioning heatexchanger 7 functions as a condenser and the intermediate heat exchanger4 functions as an evaporator.

The air conditioning coolant compressed by the compressor 1 is condensedand liquefied by the heat discharged in the indoor air conditioning heatexchanger 7. Next, after depressurization in the expansion valve 22A,the air conditioning coolant is evaporated and gasified by heat exchangewith the machine coolant flowing in the machine coolant circuit 41 inthe intermediate heat exchanger 4, and returned to the compressor 1.Heat exchange between the machine coolant and the air conditioningcoolant take place in the intermediate heat exchanger 4, which cools themachine coolant.

The machine coolant circuit 41 allows machine coolant driven by the pump5 to flow in the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A and the intermediateheat exchanger 4 by opening the two-way valve 21E, and closing thetwo-way valve 21C. If the two-way valve 21A is opened, and the two-wayvalve 21B is closed, the machine coolant flows into the machine coolantcircuit 41A; and if the two-way valve 21A is closed and the two-wayvalve 21B is opened then the machine coolant flows in the machinecoolant circuit 41B.

The switching damper 53 within the indoor unit 42 is set as shown inFIG. 28, so that the air suctioned in by the air in/out port 43A passesthrough the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A and the indoor airconditioning heat exchanger 7 and is blown from the air in/out port 43B.The machine coolant heated by the heating element 9 is circulated inthis indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A, so that the temperature of theair passing through the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A rises.

The air further heated by the heat exchange in the indoor airconditioning heat exchanger 7 mounted downstream is blown to inside thevehicle from the air in/out port 43B. The air blown to the inside inthis way is therefore further heated by the refrigerating cycle circuit90 after being heated by waste heat from the heating element 9. The airin/out port 43B connects to the inside (vehicle interior) by way of aduct not shown in the drawing, to regulate the inside temperature.

The machine coolant can be cooled by heat discharge from the indoorcooling heat exchanger 6A and heat exchange by the intermediate heatexchanger 4. The air flow of the indoor fan 8A, the flow rate in thepump 5, the rotation speed of the compressor 1, and the degree ofopening of the expansion valve 22A may be regulated to control thetemperature of the air blown from the air in/out port 43B and thetemperature of the machine coolant. If the machine coolant is a highertemperature than the target temperature or the blown air is a lowertemperature than the target temperature, the air flow of the indoor fan8A may be increased, the flow rate of the pump 5 may be increased, therotation speed of the compressor 1 may be increased, and the degree ofopening of the expansion valve 22A may be widened. On the other hand, ifthe coolant is a lower temperature than the target temperature, or theblown air is a higher temperature than the target temperature, the airflow of the indoor fan 8A may be decreased, the flow rate of the pump 5may be decreased, the rotation speed of the compressor 1 may bedecreased, and the degree of opening of the expansion valve 22A may benarrowed. Not all of the actuators need be regulated, and regulating atleast one of the actuators is sufficient.

(26) Dehumidifying Operation

The dehumidifying operation is an operation to remove the humidity fromthe interior and is described while referring to FIG. 29.

In the dehumidifying operation, the four-way valve 19 and the three-wayvalve 20 are connected as shown in FIG. 29, the dispensing pipe 10 ofthe compressor 1 connects to the outdoor heat exchanger 2, and theintake pipe 11 of the compressor 1 connects to the intermediate heatexchanger 4 and the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7. Fullyclosing the expansion valve 22A and fully opening the expansion valve 23prevents the air conditioning coolant from flowing in the intermediateheat exchanger 4. In other words, the outdoor heat exchanger 2 functionsas a condenser, and the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7functions as an evaporator.

After the air conditioning coolant compressed by the compressor 1, isliquefied by heat discharge by the outdoor heat exchanger 2, the airconditioning coolant passes through the fully open expansion valve 23and flows into the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7. The airconditioning coolant flowing into the indoor air conditioning heatexchanger 7 is depressurized by the expansion valve 22B and reaches alow temperature, low pressure state, and evaporates due to theabsorption of heat from the air suctioned in by the air in/out port 43Ain the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7, and returns to thecompressor 1 by way of the three-way valve 20.

The machine coolant circuit 41 allows machine coolant driven by the pump5 to flow in the intermediate heat exchanger 4 by opening the two-wayvalve 21C, and closing the two-way valve 21E. If the two-way valve 21Ais opened and the two-way valve 21B is closed then machine coolant flowsin the machine coolant circuit 41A; and if the two-way valve 21A isclosed and the two-way valve 21B is opened, then machine coolant flowsin the machine coolant circuit 41B.

The switching damper 53 within the indoor unit 42 is set as shown inFIG. 29, so that the air suctioned in by the air in/out port 43A passesthrough the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A and indoor air conditioningheat exchanger 7 and is blown from the air in/out port 43B. The air thatwas suctioned in by the air in/out port 43A is dehumidified and cooledby heat exchange in the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7. Thetemperature of the air passing through the heater 56 rises. Theso-called reheat dehumidifying operation is in this way made possible.The relative humidity of the air supplied to inside the vehicle is inthis way lowered so that the interior space becomes more comfortable.The air in/out port 43B connects to the inside (vehicle interior) by wayof a duct not shown in the drawing, to regulate the inside temperature.

The air flow of the indoor fan 8A, the flow rate of the pump 5, therotation speed of the compressor 1, the degree of opening of theexpansion valve 22B, and the air flow of the outdoor fan 3 may beregulated in order to control the reheat quantity. To increase thereheat quantity, the air flow of the indoor fan 8A may be increased, theflow rate of the pump 5 may be increased, the rotation speed of thecompressor 1 may be increased, the degree of opening of the expansionvalve 22D may be widened, and the air flow of the outdoor fan 3 may beincreased. On the other hand, if decreasing the reheat quantity, the airflow of the indoor fan 8A may be decreased, the flow rate of the pump 5may be decreased, the rotation speed of the compressor 1 may bedecreased, the degree of opening of the expansion valve 22B may benarrowed, and the air flow of the outdoor fan 3 may be decreased. Notall of the actuators need be controlled, and just controlling at leastone actuator is sufficient.

(27) Machine Heating Operation

The heating element 9 must sometimes be pre-heated in situations such asengine starting in winter season with low outside air temperatures.Machine heating operation is an operation to warm the heating element 9without utilizing the indoor air conditioning and the operation isdescribed while referring to FIG. 30.

In the machine heating operation, the four-way valve 19 and thethree-way valve 20 are connected as shown in FIG. 30, and the dispensingpipe 10 of the compressor 1 is connected to the intermediate heatexchanger 4 and the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7, and theintake pipe 11 of the compressor 1 is connected to the outdoor heatexchanger 2. Setting the expansion valve 22A to fully open, and theexpansion valve 22B to fully closed prevents the air conditioningcoolant from flowing into the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7.In other words, the intermediate heat exchanger 4 functions as acondenser and the outdoor heat exchanger 2 functions as an evaporator.

After the air conditioning coolant compressed by the compressor 1, isliquefied by the heat discharge from the intermediate heat exchanger 4,the air conditioning coolant passes through the fully opened expansionvalve 22A and flows into the outdoor heat exchanger 2. The airconditioning coolant flowing into the outdoor heat exchanger 2 isdepressurized by the expansion valve 23 and reaches a low temperature,low pressure state, and evaporates due to the absorption of heat fromthe outside air in the outdoor heat exchanger 2, and returns to thecompressor 1. In the intermediate heat exchanger 4, heat exchange takesplace between the machine coolant and the air conditioning coolant sothat the machine coolant is heated.

The machine coolant circuit 41 closes the two-way valve 21E, and opensthe two-way valve 21C to prevent machine coolant driven by the pump 5from flowing into the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A. If the two-wayvalve 21A is opened and the two-way valve 21B is closed then machinecoolant flows in the machine coolant circuit 41A; and if the two-wayvalve 21A is closed and the two-way valve 21B is opened, then themachine coolant flows in the machine coolant circuit 41B. The two-wayvalve 21A or 21B is opened to allow the machine coolant to flow to theheating element 9 for heating. The refrigerating cycle circuit 90 heatsthe machine coolant so that the heating element 9 can be heated bycirculating this machine coolant.

The indoor unit 42 does not suction in air or dispense air and does notdrive the indoor fans 8A, 8B. Also, the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6Aand the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7 do not respectivelyallow the machine coolant and the air conditioning coolant to flow sothere is no heat exchange.

The flow rate of the pump 5, the rotation speed of the compressor 1, thedegree of opening of the expansion valve 23, and the air flow of theoutdoor fan 3 may be regulated in order to control the heating quantity.The flow rate of the pump 5 may be increased, the rotation speed of thecompressor 1 may be increased, the degree of opening of the expansionvalve 23 may be widened, and the air flow of the outdoor fan 3 may beincreased in order to increase the heat quantity. On the other hand, theflow rate of the pump 5 may be decreased, the rotation speed of thecompressor 1 may be decreased, the degree of opening of the expansionvalve 23 may be narrowed, and the air flow of the outdoor fan 3 may bedecreased in order to decrease the heat quantity. Not all of theactuators need be regulated, and regulating at least one of theactuators is sufficient.

The heating air conditioning operation shown in FIG. 27 and the machineheating operation shown in FIG. 30 make the forming of frost on theoutdoor heat exchanger 2 unavoidable. Defrosting operation is anoperation to temporarily switch from heating air conditioning operationand machine heating operation in order to remove frost on the outdoorheat exchanger 2 and is described while referring to FIG. 31.

(28) Defrosting Operation

In the defrosting operation, the four-way valve 19 and the three-wayvalve 20 are connected as shown in FIG. 31, and the dispensing pipe 10of the compressor 1 is connected to the outdoor heat exchanger 2 and theindoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7; and the intake pipe 11 of thecompressor 1 is connected to the intermediate heat exchanger 4. Theexpansion valves 23, 22B are set to fully open. In other words, theoutdoor heat exchanger 2 and the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger7 function as condensers and the intermediate heat exchanger 4 functionsas an evaporator.

After the air conditioning coolant compressed by the compressor 1 isliquefied by the heat discharge from the outdoor heat exchanger 2 andthe indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7, the air conditioningcoolant passes through the fully opened expansion valves 22B, 23 andflows into the intermediate heat exchanger 4. The frost attached to theoutdoor heat exchanger 2 can in this way be removed. The airconditioning coolant flowing into the intermediate heat exchanger 4 isdepressurized by the expansion valve 23 and reaches a low temperature,low pressure state, and evaporates due to absorption of heat in theintermediate heat exchanger 4, and returns to the compressor 1. In theintermediate heat exchanger 4, heat exchange takes place between themachine coolant and the air conditioning coolant so that the machinecoolant is cooled.

The machine coolant circuit 41 closes the two-way valve 21E, and opensthe two-way valve 21C to prevent the machine coolant driven by the pump5 from flowing into the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A. If the two-wayvalve 21A is opened and the two-way valve 21B is closed then machinecoolant flows in the machine coolant circuit 41A; and if the two-wayvalve 21A is closed and the two-way valve 21B is opened, then themachine coolant flows in the machine coolant circuit 41B. Therefrigerating cycle 90 cools the machine coolant so that the heatingelement 9 can be cooled by circulating this machine coolant.

The switching dampers 53 within the indoor unit 42 is set as shown inFIG. 31, so that the air suctioned in by the air in/out port 43A passesthrough the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A, and the indoor airconditioning heat exchanger 7 and is blown from the air in/out port 43B.The machine coolant is not circulated within the indoor cooling heatexchanger 6A so that there are no fluctuations in the temperature of theair passing through the indoor cooling heat exchanger 6A.

The air suctioned in by the air in/out port 43A is heated by heatexchange in the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger 7 and is blownfrom the air in/out port 43B to inside the vehicle. Warm air can in thisway be blown inside the vehicle even during defrosting operation. Theair in/out port 43B connects to the inside of the vehicle (vehicleinterior) by way of a duct not shown in the drawing and adjusts thetemperature inside the vehicle.

The blowing of the heated air to inside the vehicle can also beprevented. In the above structure, fully closing the expansion valve 22Band not driving the indoor fan 8 will prevent air blow to inside thevehicle.

In order to regulate the amount of defrosting, the air flow of theindoor fan 8A, the flow rate of the pump 5, the rotation speed of thecompressor 1, the degree of opening of the expansion valve 22A, and theair flow of the outdoor fan 3 may be controlled. To increase the amountof defrosting, the air flow of the indoor fan 8A may be increased, theflow rate of the pump 5 may be increased, the rotation speed of thecompressor 1 may be increased, the degree of opening of the expansionvalve 22A may be widened, and the air flow of the outdoor fan 3 may beincreased. On the other hand, to lower the amount of defrosting, the airflow of the indoor fan 8A may be decreased, the flow rate of the pump 5may be decreased, the rotation speed of the compressor 1 may bedecreased, the degree of opening of the expansion valve 22A may benarrowed, and the air flow of the outdoor fan 3 may be decreased. Notall of the actuators need be regulated, and regulating at least one ofthe actuators is sufficient.

As shown in the above description, installing the heater 56 instead ofthe indoor cooling heat exchanger 8B eliminates the need for piping sothat a smaller indoor unit 42 can be achieved.

The above described examples and embodiments may be employed separatelyor may be in combination. Single or combination usage is possiblebecause the effect from the respective examples and embodiments can berendered individually or synergistically. Moreover, the presentinvention is not limited to the above embodiments provided that there isno loss in the unique effect rendered by the invention.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

1: Compressor, 2: Outdoor heat exchanger, 3: Outdoor fan, 4:Intermediate heat exchanger, 5: Circulating pump, 6, 6A, 6B: Indoorcooling heat exchanger, 7: Indoor air conditioning heat exchanger, 8,54: Indoor fan, 9, 9A, 9B, 9C, 9D: Heating element, 10: Dispensing pipe,11: Intake pipe, 19: Four-way valve, 20: Three-way valve, 21A, 21B, 21C,21D, 21E, 21F: Two-way valve, 22A, 22B, 23: Expansion valve, 41, 41A,41B, 41C, 41D, 41E: Machine coolant circuit, 42: Indoor unit, 43A, 43B,43C, 43D: Air in/out port, 51, 52, 53: Switching damper, 54: Indoor airintake port, 55: Outdoor air dispensing port, 56: Heater, 60: Airconditioner, 61: Air conditioning control device, 62: Vehicle indoortemperature, 63: Temperature for the machine requiring temperatureregulation, 64: Vehicle operation information, 65: Drive scheduleinformation, 70: Vehicular control device, 71: Drive control device, 72:Inverter, 73: Motor, 74: Brake, 75: Battery control device, 76: Battery,90, 90A, 90B: Refrigeration cycle circuit.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A vehicular air conditioning system for avehicle, the system comprising: an outdoor air intake port located onthe outside of the vehicle; an air dispensing port located inside of thevehicle; a first air flow path fluidically coupling the outdoor airintake port to the air dispensing port; a first indoor cooling heatexchanger located in the first air flow path; a second air flow pathfluidically coupling the outdoor air intake port and the air dispensingport, wherein the second air flow path does not include the first indoorcooling heat exchanger; an indoor air conditioning heat exchangerlocated in the first air flow path and the second air flow path andlocated adjacent to the air dispensing port; a second indoor coolingheat exchanger located in the first air flow path and the second airflow path between the indoor air conditioning heat exchanger and the airdispensing port; a refrigeration cycle connected to the indoor airconditioning heat exchanger that includes a refrigerant coolant circuit;an intermediate heat exchanger connected to the coolant circuit; amachine coolant circuit that selectively transfers heat from aheat-generating device mounted in the vehicle to the first indoorcooling heat exchanger, the second indoor coolin heat exchanger, and theintermediate heat exchanger; and one or more switching dampers thatselectively block the first air flow path and the second air flow path.2. The vehicular air conditioning system according to claim 1, whereinthe first air flow path can be switched to release air that passedthrough the first indoor cooling heat exchanger to outside the vehicle.3. The vehicular air conditioning system according to claim 1, furthercomprising: a vehicle control device, wherein the vehicle controldevice: determines a state of the vehicle, and controls the one or moreswitching dampers based upon the state of the vehicle.